Exploring the approaches used to teach concepts of hand hygiene to Australian medical students.

backgroundRecent audit data has revealed that the hand hygiene (HH) rates of Australian medical students is suboptimal. It has been suggested that new approaches are needed to teach students about infection control. As a first step, we undertook a study to determine the current educational approaches used to teach Australian medical students about HH. Secondly, this study aimed to explore the perceived barriers and to explore what other teaching approaches could be used to improve the levels of knowledge and compliance.

methodsA self-administered questionnaire was sent to the Dean of Medical Education at each of the medical schools in late 2012.

resultsOf the 19 medical schools in Australia, 17 agreed to participate. The most commonly reported approaches currently used to teach students about HH are skills stations (17/17) and case scenarios/lectures (15/17). Clinical practical exams (15/17) and competency checks (11/17) are mostly used to assess the HH practices of medical students. Participants nominated the following as barriers to improving HH compliance: negative role modelling by senior doctors, and negative attitudes of students. Practical exercises (15/17), online teaching (12/17) and reflection (12/17) were suggested as other useful approaches that could be used to teach these concepts.

conclusionPractical laboratory-based approaches were suggested as the most useful teaching and learning approach. Given the trend towards blended learning, universities may want to consider new HH teaching approaches that combine campus-based learning with online components and reflection. Early exposure and the continued reinforcement of HH concepts through the student's medical degree are essential.