Infection Control and Standard Precautions
Standard precautions apply to every resident, every time, because you cannot tell by looking who carries a pathogen. Hand hygiene is the single most important action: wash with soap and water when hands are visibly soiled, before eating, after toileting, and when caring for a resident with Clostridioides difficile or a norovirus-like illness; alcohol-based rub is fine for most other routine moments. Wash at least 20 seconds, covering wrists, between fingers, and under nails.
PPE order matters: gown first, then mask or respirator, then goggles or face shield, then gloves last. Remove in reverse - gloves first, then goggles, then gown, then mask - with hand hygiene after. Gloves never replace handwashing and never leave the room.
Know the three transmission-based categories. Contact precautions (MRSA, C. difficile, scabies) mean gown and gloves plus dedicated equipment. Droplet precautions (influenza, pertussis, mumps) mean a mask, with the resident masked during transport. Airborne precautions (tuberculosis, measles, varicella) mean an N95 respirator and a negative-pressure room.
Other essentials: bag soiled linens without shaking them, never recap a used needle, use a sharps container, clean shared equipment between residents, and honor the disinfectant contact time on the label.
Trap: an answer that says wear gloves instead of washing hands, or use alcohol rub after caring for a resident with C. difficile. Soap and water is required because alcohol does not kill the spores.
Rule of thumb: clean hands, right PPE, right order, every resident.