Infection Control, Safety, and Reporting Obligations
What the exam tests
This domain tests standard precautions, safe practice, and mandatory reporting. Expect questions on hand hygiene, PPE, equipment cleaning, needlesticks, and abuse reporting.
Core rules
- Use standard precautions with every patient: hand hygiene before and after contact, gloves when contact with blood/body fluids is likely, and additional PPE as needed.
- Clean and disinfect equipment between patients; follow manufacturer contact times. Cover cuts, handle sharps safely, and use an exposure control plan.
- Oregon OSHA bloodborne-pathogen rules require training, hepatitis B vaccination offer, PPE, and post-exposure evaluation.
- Prevent falls and injuries: check equipment, guard gait training, use gait belts, and modify the environment.
- Report suspected child abuse, elder abuse, and other mandatory reports to the required agency. Report notifiable diseases as public health law requires.
- Document incidents and follow facility emergency procedures.
Worked example
A PT sustains a needlestick from a contaminated needle left in a treatment room. The PT should wash the site, report immediately, seek source-patient evaluation under the exposure control plan, and document the incident. The PT should not wait for symptoms or try to manage it alone.
Traps
Wearing gloves instead of washing hands; skipping equipment cleaning between patients; failing to report suspected abuse because “someone else will”; using a gait belt incorrectly; ignoring a sharps hazard.