Hand washing is one very important aspect of CNA skills, as it helps in controlling and spreading any infection to the resident as well as the nurse aide.
Below is the procedure of handwashing for the CNA skills test.
- Before applying soap you must get your hands and wrists wet and provide proper friction of at least twenty seconds.
- Clean your hands between fingers, nails, wrists and cuticles; separate them and rinse thoroughly.
- Turn off tap using a paper towel and discard that towel into a bin. Use another paper towel to dry your hands completely.
What Examiner Want’s to See from You in This Test:
Examiner wants to ensure that you are aware of handwashing procedure. He or she is looking for perfection in the process and will be checking for steps that might have been missed, such as fingers not being washed thoroughly, hands not rinsed after washing, etc. Examiner also will check if there were any pauses during the procedure.
Practice Tips at Home:
If you are practicing this test at home, make sure that the water running is warm enough. You may even use a timer to ensure that your hands are washed for 20 seconds. Also make sure there’s no interruption of the steps in the process during practice (no interruptions of washing, rinsing and drying each hand) Check if you missed any of the steps then repeat them again. Practice makes perfect!
Common Mistake Students Makes in Hand Washing Test:
- Sometimes they fail to measure the time for which they must keep there hand under running water.
- Sometimes they interrupt the process of washing their hands by reaching for towel (whether it’s dry or wet) too soon before rinsing off.
- Some students try to complete all steps in less than 20 seconds especially, drying off your hands with paper towels without giving one cycle each of washing and rinsing.
- Other common mistakes are not rubbing between fingers, not making a good lather (with the bottom palm) & not putting enough soap on palm or not letting soap stay long enough on skin.
Additional Hand Washing Tips
Let us go through some tips that will help ensure proper handwashing. Some experts claim that washing hands is the best way of staying away from diseases. This is because it keeps the bacteria away. Contagious diseases are more likely to cause infection in the ones who do not give importance to cleanliness. Say, for example, if someone suffering from flu sneezes without covering his/her mouth and few drops of saliva fall on your hand, it may allow rapid bacterial growth that may inherit you with infection.
Thus if such a case happens, you must immediately wash your hands. Avoiding handwashing may also affect you through infections, including flu, common cold, hepatitis A, and some skin infections. There is no harm in washing hands, as it helps you in staying fit.
When to wash hands is a question that may strike your mind. It would help if you wash hands before and after eating and after touching the mouth, eyes, or nose. CNAs have to deal with patients at a regular interval time. Proper treatment, maintaining cleanliness, and precise coordination amongst the employees are the three factors that are very crucial for recovery.
Thus they must wash their hands before and after treating the patients. They must also encourage patients to wash hands for controlling the spread of infection. Even hands must be cleaned after using the equipment. Handwashing, just for the sake of washing hands is not good. It would be best if you washed them properly. It would be best if you used soap, apply it to your hands for 20-30 seconds, and then wash them out. Thus every CNA must wash their hands and maintain cleanliness. This will not only keep you healthy but also protect others from infections.