One of the pillars of nursing that has changed dramatically since the 20th century is the prevention of nosocomial infection. In the last century, the patient was at greater risk of catching any infection when going to the hospital. In the modern world, the prevention of these diseases is much better developed and nurses play a key role in it. This is due to the fact that the nurse is responsible for the sanitary standards in the medical institution.
First of all, the main change in the prevention of infection by nosocomial infections was the rules of septic and antiseptic. Since the 20th century, many drugs and devices have been introduced in the field of medicine to maintain greater sterility. Scientists have invented recirculators and sterilizers of improved generations, for which the nurse is responsible (Mynaříková et al., 2020). Additionally, in the last century, the repeated use of syringes and other consumables was common. Certainly, these tools even at that time underwent strict processing, nevertheless, the possibility of infection was quite high.
In addition, disinfectant formulations have improved in the 21st century. The quantity and quality of destruction of pathogenic and opportunistic organisms in patient wards and other hospital premises has increased. The nurse uses clinical tools that have passed all stages of testing, which was not available in the 20th century. The nurse uses a multifunctional comprehensive cleaning system designed to meet specific needs. This system does not require the use of working solution buckets. The nozzles are pre-soaked with a disinfectant solution, used once and then sent to containers or laundry bags. Thus, over the century, the prevention of nosocomial diseases has increased, which reduces the risk of sick patients and the occurrence of infectious outbreaks.
Reference
Mynaříková, E., Jarošová, D., Janíková, E., Plevová, I., Polanská, A., & Zeleníková, R. (2020). Occurrence of hospital-acquired infections in relation to missed nursing care: A literature review. Central European Journal of Nursing and Midwifery, 11(1), 43-49.