I'm torn between thinking maybe being shamed by your colleague taking you off a case is an effective punishment and believing that doctors should face more seri

I'm torn between thinking maybe being shamed by your colleague taking you off a case is an effective punishment and believing that doctors should face more serious punishments for hand washing failure. A doctor failing to wash hands is probably inflicting a similar societal danger as driving drunk - people really could get hurt or die. It doesn't seem like the kind of thing that should just be shrugged off. The point about hand gel is a good one. I have containers of Purell and find that I enjoy washing my hands with it much more than with soap and water. I actually think of Purell as a slight positive, writing this, I'm considering Purelling my hands just for fun. I think this is probably the best technological solution: make sanitizing hands a fun experience that people want to do rather than a slight cost that people often ignore. Another potential solution might be applying some kind of coloring agent to hospital surfaces so that doctors who haven't washed in a bit will get increasingly red hands. That's probably less desirable though.