Medical workers caught red-handed

NPR, January 15, 2009

Cleveland Veterans Affairs Medical Center researchers recently showed healthcare workers there the importance of hand hygiene. A medical student examined a patient known to have a drug-resistant Staph on his skin with no sign of the infection, and placed her hand on a dish containing a jelly that promotes the growth of germs before washing her hands. She then washed her hands and pressed them into a separate dish. Within 24 hours, the germ contamination became evident.