barrier nursing

barrier nursing
 n.— «In 1943 my mother arrived as the new sister on a children’s ward in a north of England hospital—which had a matron—to find chickenpox was endemic there. She cleared it up by using a technique known as barrier nursing. The infected children were separated from the rest and a screen of disinfectant-impregnated sheets was erected between the two groups. The nurses dealing with the infected children wore masks, gowns and gloves which were taken off when they left the infected area and had no contact with the “non-infectious” nurses while on duty. Barrier nursing seems to be a technique forgotten during the halcyon days of effective antibiotics.» —“Points of View: The forgotten technique of barrier nursing” by Dallas Carter The Herald (Glasgow, Scotland) Aug. 3, 2006. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)