Safety and Compliance
The Safety and Compliance domain tests your command of the OSHA Bloodborne Pathogens Standard (29 CFR 1910.1030), CDC standard precautions, regulated medical waste, chemical and fire safety, and HIPAA privacy in patient care. Questions often describe a realistic breach and ask for the first or best action.
Infection control and sharps
- Treat every sample as infectious. Perform hand hygiene before and after patient contact; gloves do not replace hand hygiene.
- Use gloves for all draws; add a face shield, mask, and gown when splash or spray is reasonably anticipated.
- Never recap, bend, or break a needle. Activate the safety device with one hand and discard the needle and holder as a unit into a closable, puncture-resistant, leakproof, labeled sharps container at the point of use.
- Report every needlestick or splash immediately. Wash the wound with soap and water, flush mucous membranes with water or saline, and follow the facility exposure-control plan for source evaluation and post-exposure prophylaxis.
Waste, spills, and privacy
- Discard blood-saturated items in regulated medical waste, not general trash. A fresh 1:10 dilution of household bleach is commonly used for blood spills with about 10 minutes contact time; follow facility policy.
- Know RACE for fire response and PASS for extinguisher use.
- Share only the minimum protected health information necessary, and avoid discussing patients in public areas.
Worked example
A technician recaps a needle and sustains a needlestick. The first action is not to squeeze the site or apply bleach; it is to wash with soap and water and report immediately. Squeezing can traumatize tissue, and caustic agents are not recommended. The exposure report triggers source-patient testing and a time-sensitive PEP decision.
Traps that cost marks
- Recapping or transporting uncapped needles.
- Putting sharps in a red biohazard bag rather than a rigid sharps container.
- Skipping hand hygiene because gloves were worn.