A new study published in the American Journal of Infection Control found that all student nurses have observed lapses in infection control protocols, with the most common lapses associated with hand hygiene compliance.
Researchers gave online questionnaires to approximately 500 student nurses. All nurses reported having observed non-compliance on every questionnaire topic, most frequently in community and long-term care facility settings.
In addition to hand hygiene protocols, other common areas in which student nurses observed lapses were compliance with isolation precautions, environmental cleaning standards, protective clothing changes between patients and sharps management.
The group most citied for poor compliance was medical staff members, according to the researchers.
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