Putting on Personal Protective Equipment

Written by Hollie Finders, RN
Hollie Finders is a registered nurse with years of experience working in the health care field. She has degrees in both biochemistry and nursing. After working with patients of all ages, Hollie now specializes in pediatric intensive care nursing. Hollie’s LinkedIn

Procedure

Equipment needed: disposable gown, gloves, goggles, and mask

Perform hand hygiene.
Grab a disposable gown. Without shaking it, allow the gown to unfold in front of you.
Place your arms into the sleeves of the gown. Fasten the ties at the neck.
Ensure the gown covers your uniform in the back. Fasten the ties at the waist.
Pick up the mask by grasping the top set of ties or the elastic bands.
Place the mask across your face, so it covers your nose and mouth.
Fasten the top ties and then the bottom ties, or secure the elastic bands around your ears.
Put on goggles over your eyes or eyeglasses. Ensure a secure fit.
To put on gloves, apply a glove to the non-dominant hand first; then, apply a glove to your dominant hand.
Smooth out any wrinkles or folds in the gloves. Examine for any tears or holes and replace if needed.
Pull the gloves down to cover the cuff of the disposable gown.
Proceed to the task.

Important Information

Personal protective equipment is worn to protect the mouth, nose, eyes, clothing, and skin from unwanted pathogens [1]. In the health care setting, a patient’s condition often prompts the use of personal protective equipment; however, a health care worker is able to wear personal protective equipment whenever he or she deems it is necessary (e.g., during procedures with the potential for excessive contact with bodily fluids). Based on routes of transmission, the CDC recommends the following equipment to be worn as protection against infectious diseases: [2]

Contact: gown and gloves
Droplet: mask and gloves
Contact and Droplet: gown, mask, and gloves
Airborne: respirator

Always encourage visitors to wear personal protective equipment when visiting a patient with an infectious disease. This limits the spread of infection and promotes a safe environment.

References

1. https://www.cdc.gov/HAI/pdfs/ppe/PPEslides6-29-04.pdf

2. http://www.cdc.gov/HAI/settings/outpatient/basic-infection-control-prevention-plan-2011/transmission-based-precautions.html

More Resources

Measuring Blood Pressure

Many factors can interfere with obtaining an accurate blood pressure. The most common mistakes that lead to inaccurate blood pressures are a result of improper technique, including: not supporting the patient’s arm, using the wrong sized cuff, positioning the cuff too low on the patient’s arm, improper positioning of the cuff’s artery marker, and attempting to measure blood pressure through clothing.

Assisting the Resident to Sit on the Side of the Bed

Having the resident sit on the side of the bed is otherwise referred to as dangling. When a resident quickly changes position, especially from lying to sitting or standing, there can be a rapid drop in the resident’s blood pressure. This drop in blood pressure may cause dizziness or lightheadedness.

Moving the Resident from a Bed to a Stretcher or Gurney

Moving a patient from a bed to a stretcher can pose huge safety risks to both the patient and to the health care workers completing the transfer. Always use the appropriate amount of people to complete a transfer, which may vary according to the patient’s weight and/or the facility’s policy. In some cases, a mechanical lift may be needed.

Removing Personal Protective Equipment

It is important to follow the correct procedure while removing personal protective equipment to avoid contaminating your skin or clothing. The most common source of contamination in this process stems from improper removal of gloves. Gloves are often the most soiled piece of equipment. To avoid contaminating your skin or the other equipment worn, gloves should always be removed first. Then remove the goggles, gown, and mask, in that order.

Applying a Condom Catheter

Condom catheters are used for men who are incontinent. These catheters are external and are meant to be used short-term and changed daily.

Tympanic Membrane Temperature with Electronic Thermometer

A tympanic membrane thermometer uses an infrared sensor to measure the temperature of the tympanic membrane (ear drum). This type of thermometer is considered an accurate and reliable predictor of a patient’s core temperature because the tympanic membrane’s blood supply is sourced from the carotid artery, which is the same artery that carries blood to the hypothalamus in the brain.