Reflection of Infection control in Hospital

Running head: REFLECTION
Infection control
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

REFLECTION1
Introduction- Infection control encompasses the broad health discipline that is
predominantly focused on prevention of healthcare-associated or nosocomial infection in
hospital settings (Berríos-Torres et al., 2017). In this essay we will reflect on an incident
where we were unable to show compliance to proper infection control practices, in addition
to the experience I gained from my clinical setting.
Incident- The incident occurred during my clinical placement under the command of
registered nurse. While administering medications to a patient who had been operated for
obstructive bowel syndrome, my mentor asked to empty the catheter bag that had become
full. I stopped medication administration midway and emptied the urine, following which I
disposed it in a container present in the pan room. However, I forgot to wash my hands using
soap and water and returned to the medication trolley where my mentor had been waiting. My
mentor had been constantly monitoring my actions and was a bit upset with my performance,
following which she asked me to maintain hand hygiene and also explained its importance to
me. On reflecting at the incident I realised that the complexity of the clinical environment and
unfinished task of administering medications lead to my failure in maintaining hand hygiene.
Infection control and prevention practices at the clinical setting- At the clinical
setting where I had been placed, standard precautions were taken for preventing the
transmission of pathogens by contact with body fluids, blood, mucous membrane and non-
intact skin. The hospital had a well-defined infection control policy identifying the target
groups that had highest threats of passing along or contracting nosocomial infections. The
policy mandated screening patients suffering from respiratory diseases and diarrhoea. The
policy also focused on safe handling of sharps and needles that are a major source of
infection.