Med students might brush up on hand-washing: study

Knowledge of proper hand hygiene may be sorely lacking among doctors-to-be, according to a study.

Researchers from Hannover Medical School in Germany surveyed 85 third-year medical students, asking them to indicate appropriate times for hand-washing. Only one-third of the students were able to identify all of the five correct scenarios, including “after removal of gloves,” and “before preparation of intravenous fluids,” from a list of seven.

Role models are important for promoting proper hand hygiene among younger physicians, the authors said. But the surveyed students said they believed adherence to hand-washing protocols is actually worse among more-senior doctors.

“Our data somewhat confirm these previous findings in that the medical students in our facility, too, expect a decline of (hand hygiene) compliance as the physicians reach upper steps in medical hierarchy,” the authors wrote in the study. “This represents a major key for the improvement of clinical medical training and should be considered in all kinds of medical disciplines.”