CENTRAL LUZON DOCTORS’ HOSPITAL

EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTION, INC.

Romulo Highway, San Pablo, Tarlac City
' (045) 982-5019/982-5052/982-0264 ' (045) 982-0780/982-2757

CHECKLIST ON NURSING PROCEDURES (NCM _______)

___________Semester, A.Y. _____________

Handwashing

Name of Student: Date of test:

RATING SCALE :

1 = NO
2 = YES
3 = MASTERED

GRADING SYSTEM
RAW SCORE / TOTAL SCORE x 100

SKILL
PERFORMANCE STEP 1 2 3
STEP
Preparation
Determine:
 Presence in client of factors increasing
susceptibility to infection
 Whether client uses immunosuppressives
 Clients’ medications
 Recent diagnostic procedures or treatments
that penetrated the client’s skin or a body
cavity
 Client’s current nutritional status
1  Signs and symptoms indicating the presence
of an infection:
 Localized signs—swelling, redness, pain or
tenderness with palpation or movement,
palpable heat at site, loss of function of
affected body part,
 presence of exudate
Systemic indications—fever, increased pulse and
respiratory rates, lack of energy, anorexia, enlarged
lymph nodes
Determine:
2  The location of running water
and soap or soap substitutes
Assemble equipment:
 Soap
3
 Warm, running water
Disposable or sanitized towels
Assess the hands:
 Nails should be kept short.
4  Remove all jewelry.
Check hands for breaks in the skin, such as hangnails
or cuts.
Procedure
If you are washing your hands where the client can
1 observe you, explain to the client what you are going
to do and why it is necessary.
 Turn on the water, and adjust the
flow:
 For knee levers, move with the knee to
regulate flow and temperature.
 For foot pedals, press with the foot to regulate
flow and temperature.
2
 For elbow controls, move with the elbows
instead of the hands.
 For infrared control, motion in front of the
sensor causes water to start and stop flowing
automatically.
Be sure to adjust flow so that water is warm.
Wet the hands thoroughly by holding them under
the running water, and apply soap to the hands.
 Hold the hands lower than the elbows, so that
the water flows from the arms to the
3
fingertips.
If the soap is liquid, apply 2–4 ml (1 tsp). If it is bar
soap, granules, or sheets, rub them firmly between the
hands
Thoroughly wash and rinse the hands.
 Use firm, rubbing, and circular movements to
wash the palm, back, and wrist of each hand.
Interlace the fingers and thumbs, and move
4 the hands back and forth. Continue this
motion for 10 seconds.
 Rub the fingertips against the palm of the
opposite hand.
Rinse the hands
Thoroughly dry the hands and arms.
 Dry hands and arms thoroughly with a paper
5
towel.
Discard the paper towel in the appropriate container.
Turn off the water.
6 Use a new paper towel to grasp a hand-operated
control
Variation: Handwashing Before Sterile Technique
Procedure
Apply the soap and wash as described in step 4, but
hold the hands higher than the elbows during this
hand wash. Wet the hands and forearms under the
running water, letting it run from the fingertips to the
elbows so that the hands become cleaner than the
elbows.
Apply the soap and wash as described earlier in step
6, maintaining the hands uppermost.

Clinical Instructor