I was shocked when reading On Washing Hands. I didn’t know that such a big number of people get sick while in the hospital. Atul Gawande, the author of this essay, wrote “Each year, according to the U.S Center for Disease Control, two million Americans acquire an infection while they are in the hospital. Ninety thousand die of that infection” (207). Those numbers amazed and shocked me. The writing that stood out to me the most was when the author was talking about the fact that the staff didn’t wash their hands as much as they should. The author writes “… we doctors and nurses wash our hands one-third to one-half as often as we are supposed to” (201). This is frightening because most people go to the hospital and expect to be around clean nurses and doctors.

I think that changing habits and behavior often is difficult for humans, even if they want to change, because sometimes it’s all some people know. It’s easier to give in than to stick with not doing something. People are lazy and they want to go the easy route. People can change if they have the right motivation and they have the strength and support to do so. It’s not that hard to tell that I am overweight. I have clinical depression and when I am sad, I eat. I know it’s bad and I know its wrong and that I need to stop myself, but it’s the only thing that made me happy. All I knew was to eat when I was sad or bored and it’s hard to change something that you’ve always done and something that is easy. I have changed my ways and I am on anti-depressants that stop me from going straight to the fridge when I’m sad, but sometimes it’s a challenge.