Infection control precautions are a big topic on the NCLEX. To pass the NCLEX, you’ll need to know about the basics: airborne, droplet, contact, enteric and neutropenic precautions. This is helpful information especially when you want to keep your patients safe at clinical.
It’s also important to know how to put on and take off personal protective equipment (PPE). The Centers for Disease Control go into more detail about Infection Control. But I like to keep things simple!
All of the following are infection control precautions for real life nursing and for the NCLEX for keeping your patients safe.
Airborne Precautions
- most contagious / needs private room
- airborne droplets stay in air for up to 2 hours and travel across the room
- Diseases are: My Chicken haZ TB
- Measles
- Chicken pox / Varicella Zoster (when lesions have crusted over can just be contact)
- Shingles / Herpes Zoster
- TB
- PPE: N95 mask/particulate respirator, gown, gloves, goggles
- client wears surgical mask when leaving room
- negative pressure room, air exchanges and keep door closed
Droplet Precautions
- Private room
- large drops that go out about 3 feet and fall to floor
- SPIDERMAN (3 S’s and 3 P’s)
- scarlet fever, sepsis, streptococcal pharyngitis, parovirus, pertussis, pneumonia, influenza, diphtheria, epiglottis, rubella, meningitis, mumps, mycoplasma/meningococcal pneumonia, adenovirus
- PPE: surgical mask within 3 feet of client; wear gown, googles and gloves if closer
Contact Precautions
- Private room
- disease is transmitted by touching the client or touching something else the client touched
- mostly wound, skin and eye infections
- multi-drug resistant organisms: MRSA, VRE, CRE
- skin and wound infections: CHIPS
- cutaneous diphtheria, herpes simplex, impetigo, pediculosis, scabies, staphylococci
- eye infections (conjunctivitis)
- PPE: gown and gloves (possible mask, eye wear)
Contact & Enteric Precautions
- Private room
- diseases with diarrhea
- C. diff, rotavirus, norovirus
- wash hands with soap and water
Neutropenic Precautions/Protective Isolation
- Private room
- for immunosupressed
- AIDs, burns, organ transplants, immunosuppression meds, chemotherapy
- wear gloves for all procedures
- no live vaccines, avoid invasive procedures, check WBC and temp
Personal Protective Equipment
- putting on/donning
- puts hands over your head, pretend you have it on already and go from bottom up
- ON– gown, mask, googles, gloves
- taking off/doffing
- alphabetical order
- OFF– gloves, goggles, gown, mask
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