Sergeant steps outside lab and into classroom to teach students importance of hand washing

  • Published
  • By Valerie Mullett
  • 341st Missile Wing Public Affairs Office
MALMSTROM AIR FORCE BASE, Mont. --  Staff Sgt. Jonathan Shields, a medical laboratory technician with the 341st Medical Support Squadron, took his knowledge of laboratory procedures with him to teach the kindergarten students at Loy Elementary School the proper way to wash their hands and why it is so important. On March 30, armed with some petri dishes, sterile swabs and goodies to pass out before he left, Sergeant Shields set out on his mission.

He first asked the children what they knew about washing their hands, how they thought is should be done and how often, and then he proceeded to teach them, in a fun way, how to do it properly.

"You need to use warm water and soap and wash for 20 seconds -- that's about how long it takes to sing the ABC song, or Happy Birthday. So, we sang the ABC song and went through the proper motions of washing our hands," he said.

He then explained to the children to use a paper towel to shut off the faucet and dry their hands.

After showing the children a colored chart that pictured various germs, he asked for volunteers to help him with an experiment. There was no shortage of hands in the air wanting to be picked to assist.

Selecting three eager students to help him out, he had one student go to the sink and wash his hands with soap and water, the best way to clean them. He put hand sanitizer on a second student's hands. The third student remained "as is."

Next came the petri dishes. One at a time, each touched their fingers into a dish and Sergeant Shields labeled each one as to which method of "washing" was done. In a fourth dish, he touched his own fingers and finally, he swabbed the surface of one of the desks and touched the swab into a fifth dish.

"One of my students' mother works in the lab on base and she asked me if I would be interested in having someone come and do a hand washing demonstration," said Ms. Sheryl Thompson, kindergarten teacher. "I thought it would be a great idea. I am very anxious to see what grows in those petri dishes."

Sergeant Shields took the dishes back to lab and incubated them overnight.

On April 1, he returned to the school to reveal the results of the experiment, much to the amazement of all.

"I didn't test any of them but I've worked in the lab for a number of years and they look like normal flora that is found on everyone's skin," he said. "The biggest thing is making sure we get rid of some of the bad species that can cause serious infection if they get in the wrong places, like the children's eyes."

"I'm really glad we did this because most of us probably don't realize how many germs are on our hands," Ms. Thompson said.

After showing the students the incubated petri dishes, Sergeant Shields tested their memory on what they had learned on his first visit.

"They are very, very smart kids," he said. "They remembered almost everything I taught them and I haven't been here in two days."

"This was an excellent way for the children to learn the proper way to wash their hands," Ms. Thompson said.