AMCA PTC key terms

Infection control practices applied to every patient regardless of diagnosis, including hand hygiene, gloves, gowns, masks, and safe handling of sharps and body fluids.

Barrier items such as gloves, gowns, masks, eye protection, and face shields worn to prevent contact with blood, body fluids, and infectious agents.

Cleaning hands with soap and water or an alcohol-based rub at specified moments, such as before and after patient contact and after glove removal, to reduce transmission of organisms.

Additional precautions beyond standard precautions used for patients with known or suspected contagious conditions, categorized as contact, droplet, or airborne and matched to how the organism spreads.

A written employer program describing how workers are protected from bloodborne pathogens, including engineering controls, work practice controls, hepatitis B vaccination, training, and post-exposure procedures.

Medical treatment, such as antiviral medication or immune globulin, given after a possible exposure to an infectious agent to reduce the chance of developing infection.

An accidental puncture of the skin by a used needle or other sharp, which must be reported immediately so the source can be evaluated and prophylaxis considered.

A puncture-resistant, closable, labeled receptacle used to discard needles, lancets, and other contaminated sharps immediately after use to prevent injury.

Material contaminated with blood or other potentially infectious substances that must be segregated, labeled, and disposed of according to facility and regulatory rules.

An infection a patient acquires during care in a health care setting that was not present or incubating at the time of admission.

The sequence by which infection spreads: a pathogen, a reservoir, a portal of exit, a mode of transmission, a portal of entry, and a susceptible host; breaking any link prevents spread.

The standardized sequence for filling blood collection tubes so that additive carryover between tubes does not alter test results, beginning with sterile culture tubes and ending with tubes containing additives that affect coagulation testing.

A substance placed inside a collection tube, such as an anticoagulant, clot activator, or separator gel, that preserves or prepares the sample for a specific laboratory test.

A chemical additive, such as EDTA or sodium citrate, that prevents blood from clotting so cellular or plasma-based tests can be performed.

An additive, often silica or a thrombin-based agent, that speeds formation of a clot so serum can be separated from cells after centrifugation.

A tube containing clot activator and a gel barrier that, after centrifugation, separates serum from cells for chemistry and other serum-based testing.

A closed collection method in which a needle and holder are used with tubes that draw a preset volume by vacuum, reducing exposure risk and standardizing fill.

A small-gauge winged needle attached to flexible tubing, used for fragile or small veins and for pediatric or difficult draws.

A strap applied above the puncture site to make veins more visible and firm; it should be released promptly because prolonged use alters blood chemistry and causes stasis.

An increase in the concentration of cells and large molecules in blood caused by fluid leaving the vessels, often from leaving a tourniquet on too long or from prolonged fist pumping.

Rupture of red blood cells that releases hemoglobin into the specimen, often from rough handling, small needles, or vigorous mixing, and can make results unreliable.

Entry into a vein with a needle to withdraw blood for laboratory testing or donation.

Collection of a small blood sample by pricking the skin, most often the side of a fingertip or the heel of an infant, for tests that need only a drop or two.

A small, sterile, single-use blade used to make a controlled puncture in the skin for capillary blood collection.

A small tube or vial, often with a scoop or capillary tip, used to collect and hold tiny blood volumes obtained by skin puncture.

Using the fingertips to feel a vein's location, depth, direction, and resilience before puncture, which helps select the best site and avoid arteries or damaged vessels.

Choosing the puncture location by considering vein condition, patient anatomy, prior draws, and areas to avoid such as scars, hematomas, or arms with intravenous lines or dialysis access.

Verification of a patient's identity using at least two independent identifiers, such as full name and date of birth, plus matching to the requisition before any specimen is collected.

The order or form that specifies the tests requested, patient information, and collection requirements; it must be checked against the patient and the labeled specimens.

Applying identifying information to a specimen container at the bedside immediately after collection, including patient name, unique identifier, date, time, and collector, so the sample can be traced.

A patient's voluntary agreement to a procedure after being told its purpose, what will happen, risks, and alternatives, given without coercion and documented as required.

The ethical and legal duty to protect a patient's health information from unauthorized disclosure, sharing it only with those who need it for care or as permitted by law.

Individually identifiable health data, in any form, that is protected by privacy rules and must be handled, stored, and transmitted securely.

The tasks and responsibilities a health care worker is legally and professionally permitted to perform based on training, certification, and state or employer rules.

The level and type of care a reasonably competent professional with similar training would provide in similar circumstances, used to judge whether actions were appropriate.

Failure to meet the standard of care, resulting in harm, established by showing a duty, a breach, causation, and damages.

Spinning a specimen at a controlled speed and time to separate components such as serum or plasma from cells, following the test's requirements for speed and duration.

Refusal of a sample for testing because it is mislabeled, hemolyzed, clotted, insufficient, improperly stored, or otherwise unsuitable, requiring documentation and often recollection.

A documented, unbroken record of who handled a specimen and when, used when results may have legal consequences, such as forensic or workplace drug testing.

A sample collected after a required period without food or drink except water, because eating can change results such as glucose or lipid levels.