Infection prevention and control, and occupational health and safety
What this domain tests
Infection prevention and occupational health and safety questions test standard precautions, reprocessing, and your legal duties to keep patients, whānau and the team safe.
Core rules
- Standard precautions apply to every patient: hand hygiene at the WHO 5 moments, PPE, safe sharps handling, and clean-to-dirty workflow.
- Reusable instruments need cleaning, inspection, packaging and sterilisation according to NZS 4815 and the Dental Council infection prevention standard. Sterilisation is monitored physically, chemically and biologically.
- Single-use items are not reused. Environmental surfaces are cleaned and disinfected between patients; spills are managed with a spill kit.
- The Health and Safety at Work Act 2015 requires hazard identification, reporting and consultation. Immunisation, sharps injury protocols and mercury hygiene are part of this.
- Waste is segregated; contaminated waste and sharps go into appropriate containers.
Worked example
A contaminated curette is dropped into the sink. Do not recap or handle the tip. Retrieve with forceps, clean in a washer-disinfector or manually with detergent, inspect, pack, autoclave, and record the cycle. If a needlestick occurs, wash, report immediately, and follow the exposure protocol.
Traps
Wearing gloves instead of hand hygiene; topping up a steriliser; cleaning instruments after sterilising; reusing single-use items; treating a near miss as harmless.