“Oh, No, Not Another Hand-Washing In-Service!”

Abstract

The need for in-service education is constant in the 1990s. To meet the mandates of federal and accreditation bodies, organizations must be prepared to conduct required education. In an environment where healthcare organizations are being asked to do more with less, education dollars are at a premium. There is also the need to be creative to heighten the interest of the staff in what might otherwise be considered a boring topic. Our annual in-service program on hand-washing and infection control was scheduled to present the required information, but this time we had fun and the participants paid attention. The message was received and the home health agency met its requirements and those imposed by outside regulatory and accrediting organizations.