“STOP” Study, Sanitize to Omit Pathogens

Abstract

We are currently living in the age of pandemic, as covid 19 has swept the globe and continues to be an issue to at-risk populations. We, as a society, have had to shift our focus from aggressive treatment of disease toward preventative measures. The objective of our research study was to evaluate the behavior of nursing students in 2019, which would go on to include the graduating classes of 2019 and 2020. Here at SUNY Brockport, nursing students are taught a recommended standard of cleaning their stethoscope with ethanol between every patient to prevent secondary infection from occurring through exposure caused by a contaminated stethoscope. In order to assess whether those measures were carefully followed, we sampled the stethoscopes of 117 students, and evaluated for bacterial growth on three separate solid media meant to encourage growth of distinct groups of bacteria. The identity of the isolated bacteria was also confirmed by staining and microscopic observation. Bacterial contamination was found at all four culture sites with the majority found on the earpieces, and the tubing. Staphylococcus/Micrococcus contamination was found most often on the diaphragm. Fecal contamination was also most commonly found on the diaphragm when compared to other portions of the stethoscope. Interestingly, the graduate students had the least amount of contamination while the accelerated students had the most.