Slobber Pills

My coworker was flipping through the pages of the medication record, licking her fingers with each page. In case I haven't mentioned it before, my work-place is filthy. MRSA is growing on the computer keyboards, telephone and I'm not sure what else. The place gets cleaned up, they culture various surfaces and nothing changes. We just have to be careful to keep our hands away from our eyes, mouth and nose and wash our hands before touching patients. Licking our fingers is not an option, no matter how tempting it may be.

Next, my coworker popped a pill out of a little package and gave it to the patient with her freshly licked fingers. The patient swallowed it. The patient might just as well have licked our work surfaces, the nurse's fingers and then french-kissed the nurse.

But then, who am I to talk? I also did something gross today. I was in the middle of something messy in a patient's room when my nose started running. Sniffing didn't help to stop the snot, so I wiped my nose on my upper arm. Leaving the room to blow my nose wasn't an option at the time. Do you suppose that Queen Elizabeth ever does that?