Infection Prevention and Control Flashcards
7 cards from real NMC practice questions. Tap to flip, then mark Knew It or Still Learning — missed cards come back until you master them.
Read the first 7 Infection Prevention and Control flashcards as text
Which practice is essential when using personal protective equipment (PPE) to prevent self-contamination during doffing?
Answer: Remove gloves last to protect hands during doffing
Gloves should be removed last during doffing because hands are the most common vehicle of self-contamination; hand hygiene follows immediately.
A nurse sustains a needlestick injury from a patient with unknown HIV status. What is the FIRST action to take?
Answer: Wash the wound thoroughly with soap and water
The immediate priority after a needlestick is thorough washing with soap and water to reduce the viral load at the exposure site.
Standard precautions apply to which of the following?
Answer: Blood and all body fluids, secretions, and excretions (except sweat)
Standard precautions apply to blood and all body fluids, secretions, and excretions (except sweat), regardless of infection status.
A nurse is caring for a patient with methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) wound infection. Which precaution level is required?
Answer: Contact precautions
MRSA is transmitted by direct or indirect contact with the patient or their environment, requiring contact precautions.
What is the recommended contact time (dwell time) for most alcohol-based hand rubs to be effective?
Answer: 10–15 seconds until hands are dry
ABHR should be rubbed over all hand surfaces for approximately 20–30 seconds until hands are completely dry to achieve effective microbial reduction.
Which of the following best describes the chain of infection?
Answer: Pathogen → reservoir → portal of exit → mode of transmission → portal of entry → susceptible host
Breaking any link in the chain of infection — pathogen, reservoir, portal of exit, transmission, portal of entry, susceptible host — prevents disease spread.
A healthcare facility is experiencing a Norovirus outbreak on a ward. Which environmental decontaminant is most appropriate?
Answer: Sodium hypochlorite (bleach) solution
Norovirus is resistant to many disinfectants; sodium hypochlorite (bleach) at the appropriate concentration is recommended for environmental decontamination.