[chime]

> It could also be the realization that nothing you ever did would be more effective than getting doctors to wash their hands, and doctors still don't do that.

If you could invent some sort of mechanism that told doctors to wash hands, I think they would be more likely to. Here's a few ways to do that:

1. Google Glasses with OpenCV - touching blood, bodily fluids etc. sets an alarm that doctors must either snooze till later or walk up to a sink to silence.

2. Special gloves that instantly turn green when coming in contact with the most common bacteria.

3. Wrist watch / mobile device that beeps loudly every time a doctor goes from one patient to the next without stopping by a sink.

I agree that hospitals and doctors don't want to change because that takes time. However, there is no point in giving up today because your work isn't going to be popular for two more decades.