Q. I recently went for a routine exam and the nurse announced he had a really bad sore throat. He did not bother to wash his hands or put on gloves as he took my blood pressure and temperature.
Two days later, I came down with a head cold and severe sore throat and the following day developed a bad eye infection. I went to an urgent care center affiliated with my doctor’s office to get my eyes checked out. I told them what had happened, but the doctor said it was impossible for me to catch a cold from the nurse unless I kissed him.
Isn’t it incredibly unprofessional to defend bad behavior? I wonder how many other patients that nurse infected during the course of the day. And I wonder what would have happened if I had asked him to wash his hands.
A. What a shame that the nurse felt he had to work even though he was sick. We agree that it was unprofessional for a physician to defend this lapse in proper hygiene.
Health care workers are supposed to wash their hands before touching a patient whether or not they have a cold. Although it should not be up to patients to enforce that behavior, they have a right to request hand washing by the nurse or doctor.
