Content area
Full text
To the editor,
Cohen 1 provides a thoughtful and heartfelt clinical anecdote that complements our review of the shortfalls around hand washing among physicians. 2 We agree that hand washing shows care and diligence in patient treatment. It also conveys an image of being calm rather than rushed, humble rather than self-important and wanting contact rather than distance. Unfortunately, the metaphor of just-washed warm-hands may no longer apply to modern hand sanitisers that chill the skin from evaporation. We commend Cohen for his good intentions and yet a fundamental point in behavioural research is that intentions, no matter how emotionally poignant, can fail to translate...