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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

  1. Perform hand hygiene.
  2. Grab a disposable gown. Without shaking it, allow the gown to unfold in front of you.
  3. Place your arms into the sleeves of the gown. Fasten the ties at the neck.
  4. Ensure the gown covers your uniform in the back. Fasten the ties at the waist.
  5. Pick up the mask by grasping the top set of ties or the elastic bands.
  6. Place the mask across your face, so it covers your nose and mouth.
  7. Fasten the top ties and then the bottom ties, or secure the elastic bands around your ears.
  8. Put on goggles over your eyes or eyeglasses. Ensure a secure fit.
  9. To put on gloves, apply a glove to the non-dominant hand first; then, apply a glove to your dominant hand.
  10. Smooth out any wrinkles or folds in the gloves. Examine for any tears or holes and replace if needed.
  11. Pull the gloves down to cover the cuff of the disposable gown.
  12. 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

Indwelling Catheter Care

Indwelling catheters allow urine to drain from the bladder. They are used when residents are unable to urinate on their own or when the process of cleaning the resident after urination would be difficult for the resident to tolerate (such as during end of life care). Caring for the catheter appropriately is a vital part of preventing infection and skin breakdown.

Measuring the Radial Pulse

The radial artery, located in the wrist, is easy to feel and an efficient location to measure heart rate. Changes to the rhythm or strength of the radial pulse can indicate heart disease, damage to the arm, or body fluid status. It is important to remember to check the radial pulse on both sides as differences between left and right can indicate injury or disease processes.

Prone Position

Prone position is not used as commonly as other patient positions. This position allows for full extension of the hips and the knees and gives many bony prominences a break from continuous pressure. However, placing patients in prone position does not come without the risks of pressure ulcers.

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.

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.

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