The Story of Gloves

If any of you have read any of my past articles you may notice a theme has started to emerge about gloves!
You know how it is, buy a red car, everywhere you look you see a red car.  In this case have an issue with "gloves" and everywhere I look there is an issue with gloves...I will start with the food service folks at the grocery stores.  Whether behind the deli counter or stocking fresh lettuce, everyone has gloves..and it would seem they all need a HUGE lesson in the purpose for wearing gloves.  As the young man briskly yanked the lettuce out of the packing box and stuffed it into the display bins...peeling off some of the wilted leaves (dropping them on the floor) I shuddered first at the bruised vegetables, then decided never to buy open bin lettuce ever again as he used his gloved hand to scratch a posterior portion of his body, then brush his hair out of his eyes, then pick up the lettuce leaves from the floor....toss the leaves in the empty box, then turn without a pause and pat the leaves of ALL the lettuce in such a vigorous manner as to make sure all the protruding leaves were even. I stood with my mouth open, then decided being a nurse I needed to say SOMETHING...I asked him "did you know you have now contaminated all that lettuce by using your dirty gloves to pat them all?"  He looked at me as if I were an alien, shrugged his shoulders and pushed his now empty boxes through some doors marked "employees only".  
The deli counter and the nice ladies handing out food are no better.  Those gloves hold a days worth of sweat inside them.  Food is touched after their gloved hands have opened packaging, touched knives, scissors. Ink pens are picked up that fall on the floor or from behind their ears...labels are marked, I could go on and on. 
Now, for the most part, we can excuse some of this, they just don't know any better.  But what about nurses who fail to recognize when they should have gloves on, should change gloves, should recognize when they have entered territory that requires that the gloves they have on, should now come off before they pick up a pen or touch the panel on the IV pump, or heavens come back to touch the patient. 
Do you known how to guard a sterile field, do you speak up?  Do you wear gloves every time you should?  Do you take those same gloves off and wash your hands every time you should?  Did you know every time you reach into the glove box, without cleaning your hands FIRST you contaminate the box...have you ever seen anyone drag out more gloves than is needed and stuff them back in the box?  How about stuff them in their pocket, then drop, keys, pens, scissors, tape in the same pocket?  
We have much to remember about gloves, put them on when you should, take them off when you should.  And no patting the lettuce after touching the floor!!