Safety and Infection Control Flashcards

A patient refuses to wear a mask during transport to another department and the interpreter is asked to explain the importance of masking. Which reason is most clinically accurate to convey?

Answer: Masking reduces the risk of spreading respiratory droplets to other patients and staff in the facility

Source control masking during transport helps prevent respiratory droplets from spreading to vulnerable patients and staff throughout the facility.

During an interpreted session, an interpreter accidentally touches a used blood glucose monitoring lancet. What should be done first?

Answer: Immediately wash the wound with soap and water and report the exposure

A needlestick or sharps injury requires immediate washing with soap and water, followed by reporting to occupational health for exposure evaluation and possible prophylaxis.

Which of the following best describes the purpose of an exposure control plan in a healthcare facility?

Answer: To document procedures for preventing and responding to occupational exposure to bloodborne pathogens

An exposure control plan, required under OSHA's Bloodborne Pathogens Standard, outlines methods to protect workers from exposure to blood and other potentially infectious materials.

A healthcare interpreter is informed that the patient they will be interpreting for has scabies. What precautions should the interpreter expect to follow?

Answer: Contact precautions including gloves and gown

Scabies is transmitted by direct skin-to-skin contact with an infested person, so Contact Precautions (gloves and gown) are required in addition to Standard Precautions.

What does the 'chain of infection' concept help healthcare workers understand about infectious diseases?

Answer: The sequence of events that must occur for an infectious disease to spread from one host to another

The chain of infection describes six links — infectious agent, reservoir, portal of exit, mode of transmission, portal of entry, and susceptible host — that must all be present for infection to spread.

An interpreter is asked to interpret in a room labeled 'Protective Environment.' Which patient population is most likely inside this room?

Answer: An immunocompromised patient such as one who underwent a bone marrow transplant

Protective Environment rooms use positive air pressure and HEPA filtration to shield severely immunocompromised patients, such as bone marrow transplant recipients, from environmental pathogens.

When an interpreter observes a spill of bodily fluid on the floor of an exam room, what is the most appropriate immediate action?

Answer: Alert appropriate facility staff to handle the biohazardous spill according to protocol

Interpreters should immediately notify appropriate facility staff (housekeeping or nursing), as biohazardous spill cleanup requires trained personnel with proper PPE and disinfectants.