“Oh, I never let my kids hold me until after I’ve showered and changed my uniform.” You all heard that, right? You know you are in a potentially dangerous line of work. Nobody wants MRSA, VRE, C-Diff, or other germs in their homes!
Patients are sicker these days. Germs are more virulent. So I’ve put together 9 easy steps to keep hospital germs out of your car and home.
It’s pretty easy, so let’s get started!
First: To prevent dirty nursing shoes from touching the inside of your car or home, get a pair of slip-on shoes, like Crocks Slip-On Fashion Sneakers from Amazon. Always wear your slip-on shoes to drive to and from work.
Second: while you’re home, put your clean nursing shoes in a clean plastic bag. And don’t put them on until you get to your parking spot at work. So your nursing shoes will always travel in a bag, whether it’s clean on the way to work or dirty on the way home.
Third: At the end of your shift, and once you’ve left, find an empty bathroom. Take two gallon-size plastic bags with you, your antiseptic wipes, and your outerwear bag.
Fourth: Put your badge, stethoscope, and whatever you have in your pockets on a stack of paper towels. Consider everything tainted. Wash your hands. Then clean each item carefully with antiseptic wipes and place everything in a clean plastic bag.
Fifth – You show up clean to work. But after a 12-hour shift, none of us want to consider what that uniform is wearing. Don’t use it at home! Instead, just peel it off and put it in the resealable plastic bag.
Sixth: Next, wash your hands, arms, face, and neck, and put on clean street clothes from your clean purse. I highly recommend using zip lock bags for good closure, speed, and ease of use. Keep that plastic bag in your pocket for when you get to your car and change shoes.
Seventh – How will you safely clean your cell phone? You know you’ve been playing it at work. Some have been known to put it in a new ziplock sandwich bag before each shift, and throw away the dirty plastic bag at the end of the day.
BUT, it might be more socially acceptable to consider buying one of the water-resistant phone protectors on the market. As they are waterproof, they are washable. Here’s an example: DandyCase Neon Colors Waterproof Case for all types of Amazon phones. You can wash it with antiseptic wipes when you are cleaning your other pocket items.
Eighth: Your work bag and ziplock bags, with their contents, could be placed in something like an Amazon washable plastic Rubbermaid mini basket and placed in the trunk of your car.
Ninth – Once at home, clean your uniform with hot soapy water, disinfect your shoes, and take a shower. It is always best to kill all germs as soon as possible.
So are you ready? By taking just a few extra minutes, you will have better protected yourself and your loved ones from potentially dangerous pathogens! What a great way to protect your home, your car, your family, and yourself!
Health!