Coinciding with the Hand Hygiene Awareness Day, the Department of Medical Microbiology and Immunology at the Faculty of Medicine, Ain Shams University, in cooperation with the Association of Medical Microbiology and Immunology in Cairo, organized the second celebration of the Hand Hygiene Awareness Day, under the patronage of Prof. Mohamed Diaa Zein El-Abedeen, President of Ain Shams University and Prof. Ali Al-Anwar, Dean of the Faculty and Chairman of the Hospitals Board of Directors, in the presence of Prof. Rania Salah, Vice Dean of the Faculty of Medicine for Education and Student Affairs, Prof. Hala Al-Suweed, Vice Dean of the Faculty for Community Service and Environmental Affairs, headed by Prof. Maha Hamdy, Head of the Department and Association.

The celebration discussed a number of important topics, including the importance of hand hygiene in preventing the spread of infection and the expected challenges in applying this vital procedure, with the participation of an elite group of speakers from microbiology professors and infection control consultants from medical faculties.

In addition to presenting the success story of the project to improve the health care center in Badr City, which was presented by Dr. Reham Hassan is one of the graduates of the Diploma in Infection Control awarded by the Department of Medical Microbiology and Immunology in 2023.

The celebration activities included two groups of students from the Faculty of Medicine of Ain Shams presenting presentations summarizing their training experiences within the Department of Medical Microbiology and Immunology in learning the optimal methods for hand hygiene and evaluating the efficiency of the methods after conducting them using laboratory tests. They were trained by faculty staff, the teaching assistants in the department, and a group of their colleagues who They went through training last year to emphasize the importance of applying learning through peer teaching strategy as one of the standards of quality medical education.

Prof. Maha Hamdy celebrated the celebration by presenting the most important recommendations of the scientific day, including that practicing hand hygiene is a simple and effective way to prevent and control infections associated with the provision of health care. It is also a shared responsibility that benefits doctors, patients and the entire community.

She pointed to the positives of blended learning, which improves the quality of the educational process, whether face-to-face or online, using modern technological means, while reducing the negatives of each and providing flexibility, personal learning experiences, and opportunities for better cooperation and interaction.

The celebration witnessed a large participation of approximately 80 members from various categories, including professors of microbiology, infection control consultants, faculty staff from the faculties of medicine at Ain Shams University and other faculties in the specializations of medical microbiology and immunology, and infection control practitioners from department heads, consultants, specialists, and coordinators from several bodies such as the Directorate of Health Affairs in Qalyubia, the secretariat of specialized medical centers, in addition to human doctors from several specialties, dentists, nursing specialists, laboratory specialists from the central laboratories of the armed forces, the medical services sector in the Ministry of Interior, the Ministry of Health and other medical institutions, and a number of students from the Faculty of Medicine, which added enrichment and integration. Interdisciplinary.