Some things should go without saying.

I was in a medical facility recently, and was sitting, and waiting, and I had already read all of the old sticky, ripped, germ filled magazines that interested me, (let’s hear it for AARP The Magazine, and Golf Digest!).  So I started looking around at the signs.  And this particular gem caught my eye, it said, “Please remind your care giver to wash their hands.”

Ummmm….excuse me?  That really seems like something that shouldn’t fall on me.   I have to remind my 8 and 11 year olds that all the time, but their specialty, as children,  is getting dirty and spreading germs.  That’s just what they do, and I certainly wouldn’t let them come at me with a needle, or even a Q-tip.  So if somebody in scrubs is coming at me and I have to say, “Hey, just a reminder, could you wash up, and make sure you sing the ABC song so you know you washed long enough”.  Well, that’s a problem, and because I have an active imagination I start wondering what other things I need to remind them to do, things like, “You changed this paper sheet thing after the last person, right?” And, so many more, much more awful things….

I can kind of understand the food service workers sign in the McDonalds bathroom, honestly the guy I just saw smoking and spitting next to the dumpster might need a hygiene reminder, but anyone who (presumably) has an advanced degree in the medical field?  It kind of seems like cleanliness should be second nature.  Just sayin’