Clean Hands: From Semmelweis to Surgical Responsibility—Historical Foundations and Contemporary Implications for Infection Control
Kun Hwang · 2026
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Description
Kun Hwang writes a letter on hand washing, from its pioneer to the modern surgical scrub. Hand hygiene is among the cheapest and strongest guards against hospital infections. Yet staff compliance stays uneven despite clear rules and audits.
Hwang argues the gap is about identity and habit, not knowledge alone. For surgeons, the pre-surgery scrub is a ritual that marks the shift into full responsibility for the patient. That symbolic weight may explain why the scrub is done with more care than routine hand cleaning at the bedside. The letter looks back to the nineteenth-century doctor who first proved hand washing saves lives. It asks hospitals to build the same sense of ritual into everyday hygiene. Culture, not posters, may be the fix.
Catalog record
| CREATOR | Kun Hwang |
|---|---|
| YEAR | 2026 |
| COLLECTION | PAPERS |
| FORMAT | TXT |
| FILE SIZE | 5 KB |
| VERSION | 1.0 |
| LICENSE | CC BY 4.0 |
| RIGHTS | CC BY |
| SOURCE | Europe PMC |