Infection Control and Standard Precautions
Breaking the Chain
Infection control questions test whether you can stop the spread of germs through hand hygiene, standard precautions, and transmission-based precautions.
Core Concepts to Master
- Hand hygiene is the single most important prevention measure. Wash with soap and water when hands are visibly soiled or after caring for a resident with C. difficile; otherwise use alcohol-based rub. Clean hands before and after every resident contact and after removing gloves.
- Standard precautions apply to every resident, every time. Treat all blood and body fluids as potentially infectious. Wear gloves for contact with fluids, and add a gown, mask, and eye protection when splashes are likely.
- PPE order: don gown, mask, goggles, then gloves; remove in reverse, with gloves last, and perform hand hygiene after removal.
- Transmission-based precautions: contact (e.g., MRSA, C. diff), droplet (e.g., influenza), and airborne (e.g., tuberculosis). Know which PPE and room type each requires.
- Sharps and spills: never recap a needle; report needlesticks immediately. Clean spills per policy and bag soiled linens without shaking them.
Common Traps
A frequent trap is the idea that gloves replace hand washing. Gloves are not a substitute for hand hygiene. Another is skipping standard precautions for a resident who "looks healthy"-standard precautions apply to everyone. Also watch for questions that ask you to reuse gloves between tasks; change gloves between residents and between dirty and clean tasks.
Rule of Thumb
Clean hands, right PPE, every resident. If it is wet and not yours, treat it as infectious.
Worked Example
You are about to enter the room of a resident on contact precautions for C. diff. The correct approach is to perform hand hygiene, don a gown and gloves, provide care, remove PPE, and wash hands with soap and water because alcohol rub does not reliably kill C. diff spores.