Gloves should be removed immediately upon exiting the patient environment. Gloves should never be worn while charting or anywhere in the nursing station.

What’s wrong with this picture? Week 2

Each week throughout May and June, we’re hosting “What’s wrong with this picture” to raise awareness about correct glove use and hand hygiene. It’s a “what not to do” for glove use! To play just enter your guess as to what’s wrong in the glove use picture into the comments section at the end of the article.

Correct answers will be entered into a draw for these prizes:

  • One of two $25 gift cards
  • A VCH ball cap
  • A VCH stainless water bottle

draw prizes VCH swagVisa gift card

The details

There are eight pictures in all—one each week from May 5 through June 23. Check out each week’s picture, then scroll down to the comment section and post your guess about what you think the glove use error is that’s being shown in the picture. But watch out! One of the photos will show correct glove use!

  • Deadline for all entries is June 24.
  • Winners will be drawn from correct answers and announced in the June 30 VCH News.
  • You must use your real name and a valid email address to comment and enter the draw.

Have fun and don’t forget to check back each week for a new picture!

Need a review on proper glove use?

Check the World Health Organization Glove Use Information Leaflet

  1. Cheryl

    Shouldn’t wear gloves while charting. The potential dirty gloves may transmit germs to the chart and pen or vise versa. Later on the dirty gloves can transmit germs to patients by contact

    June 10, 2016
  2. Sara

    improper use of gloves, coudl be contaminated and now she’s spreading the germs. no gloves should be used when charting

    May 19, 2016
  3. Pakia Ganapathi

    Everything has a purpose. In hospital settings gloves are essential for direct patient/client care. Gloves have no business in an Office like environment such as when nurses are charting.

    May 18, 2016
  4. Yolanda Russell

    If gloves have been used for patient care, they should be taken off, hands washed prior to writing in the chart to avoid cross-contamination

    May 17, 2016
  5. Zoe

    Yes the gloves are definitely an issue but what about the stethoscope hanging around the neck? It could easily be used to choke the nurse or pulled on by a patient in a transfer situation, resulting in a severe injury.

    May 17, 2016
  6. Devinder

    After patient care is completed, gloves should be removed and disposed and proper hand hygiene completed. Charting should not be done wearing gloves!

    May 16, 2016
  7. Mylyn Custodio

    Gloves are used for patient /client care and other medical procedure but not for charting. Cross-contamination! is a big issue on that picture. Proper hand hygiene should be practice.

    May 16, 2016
  8. Alena Bartok

    Inapproprate glove usage. Gloves are only top be used while performing a task that involves direct bodily fluids.

    May 16, 2016
  9. Analiza Suano

    Health care staff wearing gloves while charting. improper hand hygiene practice. Should have taken the glove off after a task or procedure, discarded the glove, sanitized or washed hands afterwards.

    May 16, 2016
  10. shiva mehrzad

    Gloves shouln’t be used for charting .Gloves are to be worn for
    1-to reduce the risk of contamination of health-care workers hands with blood and other body fluids .
    2-to reduce the risk of germ dissemination to the environment and of transmission from the health care worker to the patient and vice versa.

    May 15, 2016
  11. dimple

    gloves should we removed

    May 15, 2016
  12. shiva mehrzad

    She should’t use gloves for charting .Gloves are to be worn for
    1-to reduce the risk of contamination of healh -care workers hand with blood and other body fluids.
    2-to reduce th risk of germ dissemination to the environment and of transmission from the health care worker to the patient and vice versa.

    May 14, 2016
  13. Gurmeet

    Gloves shound be removedcross before writing in a patients .Dirty gloves will contaminate chart, pen etc. Alternatively, gloves at risk of picking up germs off chart if being worn pre-handling patient or patient items.

    May 14, 2016
  14. Bernadette

    Staff should not have been wearing gloves while charting.

    May 14, 2016
  15. Sheri

    Gloves aren’t needed for charting, only for patient care. They should have been removed before they leftthe patient’s room.

    May 14, 2016
  16. Juliet Quiddam

    -Failure to remove gloves and wash hands prior charting.

    May 14, 2016
  17. Iana

    Clean hands better than dirty gloves! A medical professional should remove gloves after taking care of a patient, then wash hands with soap and water or use a hand sanitizer. Gloves are not needed for charting.

    May 13, 2016
  18. Brittany

    Gloves shound be removed, hands should be washed with warm water and soap or hand sanitizer before writing in a patients chart 🙂

    May 13, 2016
  19. Bansi Gandhi

    Gloves must be removed after caring for a patient, followed by hand hygeine.Charting with gloves on, amounts to Indirect Patient Exposure. The unnecssary and inappropriate use of gloves results in not only waste of resources but may increase the risk of germ transmission.

    May 13, 2016
  20. Carman

    The staff does not need to wear gloves for administrative work. If the gloves are used, the nurse should discard it right away after use. If the gloves are clean, the staff should not wear them to override basic hand hygiene (eg: hand washing & hand sanitizing).

    May 13, 2016
  21. Kathy

    Gloves should not be worn while charting. If the gloves have already been used for other things, it will contaminate the pen, chart, etc. If it is a new pair of gloves, then she should not use for patient contact after charting. However, if she is using a pair of new gloves to protect herself (ie. if she has huge wounds) and is not using the pair of gloves later for patient contact, it should not be considered wrong.

    May 13, 2016
  22. Amanda

    If the gloves are dirty, the nurse should have removed her gloves and sanitized her hands before charting to avoid transferring germs onto the chart/pen/desk, which can be transferred to other people who share the same work area. If the gloves are clean and the nurse is about to see a patient, she should have put on the clean gloves after charting to avoid picking up any germs from the chart/etc.

    May 13, 2016
  23. KM

    If the staff was previously working in a patient environment and/or had patient contact, then the gloves should be removed and HH should be done before returning to work in the nursing station/charting to prevent transmitting germs from the patient environment to the healthcare environment.

    May 13, 2016
    • Bernardus Speckling

      The purpose of using gloves is not just to protect yourself but also others. The using of dirty gloves while performing “clean” work contaminates the clean work areas. The next person touching that chart will get contaminated with the germs from the gloves. This bad practice of not removing contaminated gloves spreads germs to other objects like handrails, eleveator buttons and door knobs. This unnecesarily spreads germs around the hospital. Something we wish to avoid at all costs..

      May 13, 2016
  24. Rachelle Coleman

    Nurses should not wear gloves while charting. Nurses are for direct pt care and to be removed after task completed in the appropriate manner.

    May 13, 2016
  25. Rob

    Gloves wrong size, sleeve askew in a slovenly manner and no wristwatch.

    May 13, 2016
  26. jessica

    You should only use gloves for direct patient care

    May 13, 2016
  27. Amy

    This person is spreading the germs from the gloves to the chart. He/she should replace the chart with a new sheet so the germs wont contaminate the other papers. He/she should remove gloves and wash hands using the proper hand hygiene protocol before writing on chart. Also he/she should wipe the pen with a Caviwipe since it was touched with the dirty glove. The counter and outer patient binder should be wiped down using the Caviwipe to disinfect the dirty areas where the dirty gloves came in contact with.

    May 12, 2016
  28. Jennifer Seslija

    Ewwww… charting with gloves on. She should have removed her gloves and washed her hands before charting.

    May 12, 2016
  29. Bansi Gandhi

    Gloves should be removed after caring for a patient, followed by hand hygiene before charting. Inappropriate techniques for donning and removing gloves may also result in germ transmisson.

    May 12, 2016
  30. Zori Kaneva

    The nurse should have removed her gloves, washed her hands, and then begin charting.

    May 12, 2016
  31. Carolyn Summerfield

    The nurse should have removed gloves, washed hands, and then charted.

    May 12, 2016
  32. Lin

    Gloves are primarily used to prevent transmission of contaminated blood, body fluids,virus, bacteria, biohazard materials (not while charting because if it is contaminated every contact surfaces ie pens,counter,chairs,etc now contains+spreads viruses,bacteria to anyone touching them). Hands must be washed before and after glove use per VCH Hand hygiene protcol. Proper glove disposal after use in garbage bins as they can’t be recycled.

    May 12, 2016
  33. peter kubota

    cross contamination – dirty gloves will contaminate chart, pen etc. Alternatively, gloves at risk of picking up germs off chart if being worn pre-handling patient or patient items

    May 12, 2016
  34. Karen

    do not wear Gloves, they are only for single use, and it is not for writing.

    May 12, 2016
  35. Jesse K

    should not be using gloves for writing

    May 12, 2016
  36. Givan

    According to “The Glove Pyramid – to aid decision making on when to wear (and not wear) gloves”:

    Gloves are not indicated/ needed while there’s indirect patient exposure such as using the phone or writing in the patient’s chart. There’s no potential for exposure to blood or body fluids, or contaminated environment.

    HOWEVER!!! With that being said, even if you don’t need to wear gloves while writing reports/ charts, good hand hygiene should still be performed when appropriate regardless of indications for glove use.

    May 12, 2016
  37. Jillian

    Assuming that these gloves are dirty, she should have taken them off after use. Immediate disposal of contaminated gloves and washing hands are part of the HH protocol.

    May 12, 2016
  38. Arri Aruelo

    Writer should have removed her gloves, washed or sanitized her hands, and then started charting.

    May 12, 2016
  39. Sarah

    Gloves should be removed after seeing a patient/resident and hands should be washed or sanitizer used; before charting.

    May 12, 2016
  40. Lisa Andres

    She shouldn’t be using gloves while charting.

    May 12, 2016
    • kathy DCL

      she should not be wearing gloves while charting

      May 14, 2016