I do wear gloves every time. 
1. Influenced initially by Barbara Wilson-Clay's videos.
2. Hospital requirement to wash-glove-remove glove-wash for every single patient. Mostly I see RNs just using the gel dispensers when entering / leaving a patient's room - and not gloving for things like removing an IV heplock.
3. I've developed psoriasis on my fingers, so it's also for my own self-protection. I don't wash as often, on recommendation of my own HCP, who says to wash less and glove more. That much washing with anti-bacterial soap is extremely painful to my fingers.  
4. I've helped an occasional mom who was later discovered to have MRSA and placed in contact isolation AFTER my consult. Thank Goodness I wore gloves when I saw her!
5. I tell the moms that I glove for her and her baby's protection because I see people all over the hospital.
6. I wear gloves when I set up a pump. The kit is sterile until opened and my being gloved reduces the risk of contamination from me. The moms are instructed to wash their hands for pumping.

I find I am rarely sick with a cold or the flu. Haven't been in the last several years, with / without the flu shot. 
So I think that I benefit from being gloved around patients. And I fit into the more high-risk "elderly" population.
:-}
Phyllis

--
Phyllis Adamson, BA, IBCLC, RLC
Glendale, AZ.
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