When should hands be washed in the healthcare setting?

Washing hands before and after patient contact, and after removing gloves, is crucial in healthcare settings to prevent the spread of infections. This practice is part of standard infection control protocols known as hand hygiene, which helps protect both patients and healthcare workers.

Before patient contact, handwashing removes any potentially harmful microorganisms that could be transferred to the patient, maintaining a clean environment. After patient contact, washing hands ensures that any pathogens that may have been picked up are eliminated, reducing the risk of transmitting infections to other patients or oneself. Additionally, washing hands after removing gloves is important because gloves can have micro-tears, and hands can still harbor pathogens while wearing gloves, so washing is necessary to ensure complete decontamination.

This approach provides a comprehensive method of infection prevention, emphasizing that hand hygiene is an essential component of safe patient care. The other options imply limited circumstances for handwashing, which inadequately addresses the importance of maintaining thorough hand hygiene in all relevant situations in a healthcare setting.