Chernobyl Disaster
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samplemajorinformativeoutline.doc.pdf
Name: Suepin Nguyen
Hygiene Saves Lives I. Intro: To give an informational speech about Ignaz Philipp Semmelweis
A) Attention getter – On each square centimeter of your skin, there are about 1,500 bacteria. That’s a lot of germs. According to a study conducted by Michigan State University researchers, 95% of people do not properly wash their hands long enough to kill the infection causing germs and bacteria (Jaslow, “95 Percent of People Wash Their Hands Improperly: Are You One of Them?”).
B) Purpose Statement - That’s gross. While I can’t force you to wash your hands, perhaps today I can help you realize just how much history and evidence is behind this crucial bathroom ritual.
C) Thesis – Today, I will inform you all about Ignaz Philipp Semmelweis by discussing first
about his practice and studies, second about his scientific methods that saved a lot of lives, and third about the germ theory we all take for granted.
II. BODY:
A) Main Point Number 1: To begin, I want to introduce Ignaz Philipp Semmelweis.
a) Ignaz Semmelweis became a physician and earned his doctorate degree in medicine
in 1844. This time period was known as the start of the golden age of the physician scientist” (NPR.org). This means that doctors were expected to have scientific training. Doctors were more interested in numbers and collecting data (Justin Lessler, an assistant professor at Johns Hopkins School of Public Health).
b) In 1846, Dr. Semmelweis showed up for his new job in the maternity clinic at the General Hospital in Vienna. Due to the time period, Dr. Semmelweis thought like a physician scientist and wanted to figure out why so many women in maternity wards were dying from childbed fever (Davis, “The Doctor Who Championed Hand-Washing and Briefly Saved Lives”).
c) So what did he do? He collected data of his own. He studied two maternity wards in
the hospital. One was staffed by all male doctors and medical students, and the other by female midwives. He tallied up the number of deaths in each ward and found that women in the clinic staffed by doctors and medical students died at a rate 5 times higher than in the midwives clinic.
Transition – After discovering the high difference between the two clinics, Semmelweis began to make scientific claims, which brings me to my second main point.
B) Main Point Number 2: Semmelweis’s scientific discoveries saved lives.
a) First, Semmelweis discovered the big difference between the two clinics. He
observed women in the all male doctors’ clinic gave birth on their backs, while women in the midwives’ clinic gave birth on their sides. But this difference had no effect (Zoltán, “Ignaz Philip Semmelweis | Biography – German-Hungarian Physician”).
b) Second, he noticed that whenever someone in the ward died of childbed fever, a priest
would walk slowly past the women’s bed with an attendant ringing a bell. He theorized that the priest and bell ringing terrified women who after birth got sick and died. So he made them change their route and ditch the bell. But again, this had no effect.
c) Finally, he realized the biggest difference was the staff, doctors versus midwives.
Doctors were doing autopsies and the midwives weren’t. This led Semmelweis to hypothesize that those doctors were transferring the infection from the cadavers to healthy women, who would then develop the disease and die. He ordered doctors to start washing their hands not just with soap and water but also with chlorine solution. This drastically saved lives.
Transition – Although Semmelweis’ hypothesis was correct, none of the other doctors would listen to him and he lost his job trying to convince doctors to wash with chlorine.
C) Main Point Number 3: Moving to my last main point, even today, convincing health
care providers to take hand washing seriously is a challenge.
a) The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported in 2011, 1-in-25 hospital patients get an infection from being in the hospital. The CDC also states hand hygiene is one of the most important ways to prevent these infections (“When & How to Wash Your Hands”).
b) According to the Journal of Patient Safety, a study found that 440,000 people die each year from preventable medical errors in hospitals. (More than 1,000 deaths each day.) The preventable medical error is the 3rd leading cause of hospital deaths. That’s to say these deaths that are occurring should not be occurring, such as washing your hands (McCann, “Death by Medical Mistakes Hit Records”).
c) According to the World Health Organization, a new study reported that doctors in several countries do not wash their hands properly 40 percent of the time. This is a major issue because health-care associated and hospital-acquired infections occur when germs are transferred by healthcare provider’s hands touching the patient, according to the United Press International report (Boss, “Doctors Don’t Wash Their Hands 40 Percent of the Time, Says Study”).
Transition – All in all, doctors washing their hands during healthcare reduces the risk of infections
III. CONCLUSION: (30 SECONDS)
A) Summary statement – So the next time you have a visit at the hospital, thank Ignaz Philipp Semmelweis for his practice and studies, his scientific theories, and the germ theory that saves lives.
B) Memorable conclusion – In conclusion, do not forget to wash your hands with soap and water for at least 20 seconds, which is the same time as singing “happy birthday” two times from beginning to end (CDC).
References
Boss, Casssie. “Doctors Don’t Wash Their Hands 40 Percent of the Time, Says Study.” Inquisitr .
Inquisitr, 29 August 2013. Web. 20 March 2015.
<http://www.inquisitr.com/927777/doctors-dont-wash-their-hands-40-percent-of-the-time
-says-study/>
Davis, Rebecca. “The Doctor Who Championed Hand-Washing and Briefly Saved Lives.” NPR .
NPR, 12 January 2015. Web. 20 March 2015.
<http://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2015/01/12/375663920/the-doctor-who-championed-h
and-washing-and-saved-women-s-lives>
Jaslow, Ryan. “95 percent of people wash their hands improperly: Are you one of them?” CBS
News . CBS News, 12 June 2013. Web. 21 March 2015.
<http://www.cbsnews.com/news/95-percent-of-people-wash-their-hands-improperly-are-
you-one-of-them/>
McCann, Erin. “Deaths by Medical Mistakes Hit Records.” Healthcare IT News . HIMSS Media,
18 July 2014. Web. 20 March 2015.
<http://www.healthcareitnews.com/news/deaths-by-medical-mistakes-hit-records>
Zoltán, Imre, M.D. “Ignaz Philipp Semmelweis | Biography – German-Hungarian Physician.”
Encyclopedia Britannica Online . Encyclopedia Britannica, 16 July 2014. Web. 20 March.
2015. <http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/534198/Ignaz-Philipp-Semmelweis>
“When & How to Wash Your Hands.” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention, 17 October 2014. Web. 20 March 2015.
<http://www.cdc.gov/handwashing/when-how-handwashing.html>
