Reflection
Through evidence and appraisal, I have discovered that there is not a significant difference in the method in which people wash their hands but rather in what circumstances they choose to wash their hands. Initially, walking into this topic, I anticipated my research would lead to more of the same and things I already knew. I found instead evidence of different handwashing techniques and their effects on disease progression and it was not entirely what I expected. I thought soap and water was the end-all-be-all but found that that was not particularly true and other methods of handwashing in other contexts do the same, if not a better, job.
As a future nurse, it is important to understand the effects of handwashing and how it affects disease progression. Because nurses deal with patient contact on a daily basis and switch from room to room, it is essential to maintain good hand hygiene to keep people healthy. When there is ineffective hand washing, germs are spread and people may become more sick. This is preventable with good hand washing techniques and can be applied in any setting. I will certainly use this knowledge as a new nurse and even throughout my nursing career.
My partner and I arrived at the same conclusions at the end of the research session; we both knew that hand-washing was immensely beneficial to patients. We also thought that soap and water would be the only truly effective hand washing technique. During our research, we found that there were other equally effective options for hand washing that may prove quite beneficial to the patient as well.
My group worked together well from start to finish. One of our group members decided to leave the nursing program to pursue other interests, which made things slightly difficult only because our group dynamics were moved around a bit. However, my other partner and I work very well together and enjoy each other’s company. We also totally supported and respected our other peer’s decision to leave and moved along with our work. I think our paper will be well constructed and hopefully thoroughly beneficial to the learning of others.
