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An evaluation of the hand and nasal flora of Turkish nursing students after clinical practice
Author(s) -
Akpınar Reva Balcı,
Celebıoglu Ayda,
Uslu Hakan,
Hamidullah Uyanık Muhammet
Publication year - 2009
Publication title -
journal of clinical nursing
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.94
H-Index - 102
eISSN - 1365-2702
pISSN - 0962-1067
DOI - 10.1111/j.1365-2702.2008.02514.x
Subject(s) - colonisation , flora (microbiology) , coagulase , medicine , skin flora , clinical practice , colonization , nose , staphylococcus , staphylococcus aureus , nursing , microbiology and biotechnology , surgery , biology , genetics , bacteria
Aim. The purpose of this study was to evaluate and compare the hand and nasal flora of nursing students before and after the clinical practice. Background. Hospitals are places where infective agents abound. Healthcare workers, relatives of patients and students practising in the hospital medium are often exposed to these infective agents. Although the role of the hand and nasal flora of healthcare workers in the development of nosocomial infections has been emphasised by earlier studies, there are a limited number of studies which investigate the hand and nasal flora of nursing students. Design. Descriptive. Methods. This descriptive study involved 66 volunteer nursing students. Two samples of flora from both hands and nose of each student were obtained. The inoculated samples were then evaluated through routine bacteriological study methods. Chi‐square and percentage calculations were used in comparisons. Results. None of the students had methicillin‐resistant Staphylococcus aureus or methicillin‐resistant coagulase‐negative Staphylococcus colonisation in the hand samples before clinical practice, 6·1% of the students had methicillin‐resistant Staphylococcus aureus and 4·5% had methicillin‐resistant coagulase‐negative Staphylococcus colonisation after the practice. Although the differences between the rates of contamination with pathogen micro‐organisms in the hand and nasal flora of the student nurses before and after clinical practice were not significant, the rate of colonisation after clinical practice was higher. Conclusions. In this study, the rate of colonisation after clinical practice was higher. These findings indicate that students might have been contaminated with bacteria during clinical practice. Relevance to clinical practice. The results of this study have practical importance in clinical practice. The role of the hand and nasal flora of nursing students in the development of nosocomial infections is significant. For this reason, some precautions, such as using gloves and handwashing with special solutions when needed, should be taken to prevent nosocomial infections and protect students against associated risks.