Infection Control
This domain tests the chain of infection, hand hygiene, standard and transmission-based precautions, sterilization, sharps safety, antimicrobial stewardship, and Israeli Ministry of Health infection-control guidance.
Core rules
- Perform hand hygiene at the WHO five moments and before and after glove use; gloves do not replace hand hygiene.
- Use standard precautions for all patients: gloves, gown, mask, eye protection, and safe sharps handling as indicated.
- For contact precautions such as MRSA, VRE, CRE, and C. difficile, use a single room or cohort, dedicated equipment, and PPE.
- For C. difficile, wash hands with soap and water because alcohol does not reliably kill spores.
- Follow sterile technique for invasive procedures and reprocess equipment correctly.
- Promote antimicrobial stewardship and report notifiable infections.
- After a needlestick, wash the site, report immediately, and follow post-exposure prophylaxis protocol.
Worked example
A nurse sustains a needlestick from a patient known to be hepatitis B positive. Wash the wound with soap and water, do not squeeze or cauterize it, report immediately, and check the nurse’s hepatitis B immunity and source status. Give post-exposure prophylaxis according to protocol. Reason: timely reporting and immunity assessment determine whether immunoglobulin or vaccination is needed.
Traps
- Wearing gloves instead of performing hand hygiene.
- Using alcohol rub for C. difficile when soap and water are indicated.
- Double gloving as a substitute for safe sharps practice.
- Continuing a procedure after a sharps injury without reporting.