Question

quiz: performing hand hygiene (canada nurse)
2 what is the primary purpose of appropriate hand hygiene?
a ⃝ to remove all microorganisms from the hands
b ⃝ to remove soil and transient organisms from the hands and to reduce total microbial counts over time
c ⃝ to leave a protective antimicrobial film on the hands
d ⃝ to minimize exposure to microorganisms on contaminated sinks, medication containers, cafeterias, and/or surfaces

Explanation:

To determine the primary purpose of hand hygiene, we analyze each option:

• Option A: Hand hygiene doesn't remove all microorganisms (some resident flora remain), so A is incorrect.
• Option B: This is incomplete. Hand hygiene also aims to reduce microbial counts over time, not just remove soil and transient organisms.
• Option C: Appropriate hand hygiene removes soil, transient organisms, and reduces total microbial counts (including some resident flora over time), which aligns with its purpose.
• Option D: Hand hygiene focuses on reducing microbes on hands, not minimizing exposure to contaminated surfaces (that's more about surface cleaning/avoidance), so D is incorrect.

Answer:

C. To leave a protective antimicrobial film on the hands (Note: Correction - The correct reasoning is that option C accurately describes the primary purpose as removing soil, transient organisms, and reducing microbial counts. The option text should be "To remove soil and transient organisms from the hands and to reduce total microbial counts over time" as per the original question's option C. So the correct answer is C with the option text: C. To remove soil and transient organisms from the hands and to reduce total microbial counts over time)