• Intact glove=intact
skin. If the innermost
glove remains clean
and intact when the
outermost layer is
punctured or perforat-
ed, so, too, will your
skin. Most sticks,
pricks and nicks hap-
pen on the outer layer.
• Windshield wiper
effect. Say you're
passing suture and you stick your finger. Double-gloving will wipe the
tip of the needle, decreasing bloodborne pathogens before the needle
punctures the skin: the outermost when the needle goes through, the
innermost when the needle comes out. This windshield wiper effect
decreases the inoculum.
We also extolled the benefits of double-gloving by posting informa-
tion on a bulletin board, including common reasons why OR personnel
are opposed, and an article about a pegboard experiment that found
no decrease in dexterity when test subjects manipulated pegs, regard-
less of whether they were single-, double- or triple-gloving. The chair-
man of the division of infectious disease also conducted an in-service
on double-gloving and exposure risk.
3. Host a glove trial. We asked our glove manufacturer to sta-
tion a vendor rep on-site to help us conduct a 2-week interactive glove
fair for all surgical staff. This provided an opportunity for staff to
choose a comfortable inner and an outermost glove to be worn during
procedures. Our vendor brought in 4 different styles (textured, thin,
A P R I L 2 0 1 7 • O U T PA T I E N TS U R G E R Y. N E T • 5 1
• TOUCHY ABOUT TOUCH While barrier protection should always be the primary
consideration for glove selection, fit and comfort are important factors as well.
Pamela
Bevelhymer,
RN,
BSN
