RN Infection Control and Prevention 1 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: What is the single most effective method for preventing the spread of healthcare-associated infections?
- Using gloves for all patient contact
- Hand hygiene with soap and water or alcohol-based hand rub (Correct answer)
- Wearing a mask during all patient interactions
- Placing all patients in isolation rooms
Correct answer: Hand hygiene with soap and water or alcohol-based hand rub
Hand hygiene is the single most effective measure for preventing transmission of pathogens in healthcare settings, as recommended by the CDC and WHO.
Question 2: A nurse is assigned to care for a patient with active pulmonary tuberculosis (TB). Which type of isolation precautions must be implemented?
- Contact precautions with gown and gloves
- Droplet precautions with surgical mask
- Airborne precautions with negative-pressure room and N95 respirator (Correct answer)
- Standard precautions only
Correct answer: Airborne precautions with negative-pressure room and N95 respirator
TB is transmitted via airborne droplet nuclei (<5 microns) that remain suspended in air, requiring a negative-pressure room and an N95 respirator.
Question 3: When donning PPE before entering a contact isolation room, which item should be put on first?
- Gloves
- Gown (Correct answer)
- Surgical mask
- Eye protection
Correct answer: Gown
The gown is donned first because it covers the largest body surface area; gloves are applied last and pulled over the gown cuffs.
Question 4: A patient is admitted with a Clostridium difficile (C. diff) infection. Which precautions should be initiated in addition to standard precautions?
- Airborne precautions
- Droplet precautions
- Contact precautions (Correct answer)
- Protective environment precautions
Correct answer: Contact precautions
C. difficile spreads via the fecal-oral route through contact with spore-contaminated surfaces or hands, requiring contact precautions.
Question 5: During a sterile dressing change, which action would break sterile technique?
- Opening sterile packages away from the sterile field
- Reaching over the sterile field to arrange supplies (Correct answer)
- Maintaining sterile items above waist level
- Using sterile gloves to handle sterile supplies
Correct answer: Reaching over the sterile field to arrange supplies
Reaching over a sterile field contaminates it because unsterile clothing or arms pass directly above the field, allowing microorganism fallout.
Question 6: Which patient has the highest risk for developing a healthcare-associated infection (HAI)?
- A 25-year-old admitted for an appendectomy with no comorbidities
- A 70-year-old diabetic patient with an indwelling urinary catheter (Correct answer)
- A 45-year-old receiving IV antibiotics for community-acquired pneumonia
- A 55-year-old post-operative patient ambulating independently on day 1
Correct answer: A 70-year-old diabetic patient with an indwelling urinary catheter
The elderly diabetic patient with an indwelling catheter has multiple compounding HAI risk factors: advanced age, diabetes-related immunosuppression, and an invasive device.
Question 7: When removing PPE after caring for a patient on contact precautions, what is the correct sequence?
- Mask, goggles, gown, gloves
- Gloves, goggles or face shield, gown, mask or respirator (Correct answer)
- Gown, gloves, mask, goggles
- Goggles, gown, gloves, mask
Correct answer: Gloves, goggles or face shield, gown, mask or respirator
Per CDC guidelines, gloves (most contaminated) are removed first, followed by eye protection, then gown, with the mask removed last to minimize self-contamination.
RN Infection Control and Prevention 1
What is the single most effective method for preventing the spread of healthcare-associated infections?