Standard precautions apply to every patient: treat all blood and body fluids as potentially infectious.
Before you read
Test yourself first: 5 questions
Question 1 of 5
The family shut their dog in a bedroom when you arrived. Twenty minutes later a relative comes out through that door and leaves it open. You should:
Answer: A. A hazard that somebody else is controlling is only controlled for as long as they keep controlling it, and a door is a control that anybody can undo without meaning to. A loose animal around a stranger handling its owner is a bite waiting to happen, a hand on a collar is not a barrier, and how the dog behaved before the house filled with commotion predicts very little about now.
Question 2 of 5
A worker is trapped in a machine you have never seen before, whose controls are unlabeled. You should:
Answer: A. The operators know which control stops the machine, which one releases stored energy and which one would crush the patient further, and none of that is guessable from the outside. Working unknown controls can cycle a machine with a person inside it, and pulling one cable may kill a brake or a hold-open while leaving the drive live.
Question 3 of 5
Your partner suggests skipping gloves for a well-looking patient with a small cut who says they have no infections. You should explain that standard precautions apply to:
Answer: A. Infection status is unknown and often unknowable at the time of care, so the same baseline applies to everyone and is then raised by the task at hand. Screening by appearance or by a chart entry fails on exactly the patients who have not yet been diagnosed.
Question 4 of 5
The purpose of scene control at a multiple-casualty incident is to:
Answer: A. Control exists so nobody is missed and the order of treatment reflects the order of need. Media management is a side effect. The first crew stopping to fully treat one patient is exactly the failure control prevents, and independent crews without coordination duplicate work.
Question 5 of 5
At an industrial scene the machine holding your patient has been switched off, but its control panel is around a corner and out of sight. Before anyone reaches in you should:
Answer: A. Once a machine is off, the hazard is an unexpected restart, and the only reliable control is somebody with authority physically at the energy source — which is what a plant's lock-out procedure formalizes. A warning shouted at someone whose arm is inside a machine arrives far too late, and killing power to a whole building takes out lighting, ventilation and elevators while leaving that one switch exactly where it was.
Keep the streak going with more questions like these, each with a full rationale.
What is infection control & ppe?
The exam tests matching the barrier to the route of spread, the order for putting on and taking off equipment, and what to do after an exposure.
Key points to remember
- Standard precautions apply to every patient: treat all blood and body fluids as potentially infectious.
- Match the barrier to the route: contact (gloves, gown), droplet (surgical mask), airborne (fitted N95 respirator).
- Hand hygiene before and after every patient contact, and after removing gloves — gloves do not replace it.
- Remove the most contaminated items first (gloves), touching only the clean inside surfaces as you go.
- After a needlestick or splash: wash or flush right away, report immediately and follow up for post-exposure care.
Field priorities
- Decide on PPE before patient contact, from dispatch information and the scene.
- Put a surgical mask on a coughing patient when it does not compromise breathing.
- Never recap a used needle — dispose of sharps directly into a sharps container.
Coaching the patient
- Airborne spread (tuberculosis, measles, chickenpox) needs a fit-tested respirator; a surgical mask on the provider is not enough.
Red flags: act now
- Blood or fluid splash to the eyes, mouth or broken skin
- Needlestick from a used sharp
- Cough with fever and weight loss (think airborne precautions)
Infection Control & PPE: FAQs
What are the priority actions for Infection Control & PPE in the field?
Decide on PPE before patient contact, from dispatch information and the scene. Put a surgical mask on a coughing patient when it does not compromise breathing. Never recap a used needle — dispose of sharps directly into a sharps container.
What findings in Infection Control & PPE change your plan or your transport decision?
Blood or fluid splash to the eyes, mouth or broken skin. Needlestick from a used sharp. Cough with fever and weight loss (think airborne precautions).
What do I need to know about Infection Control & PPE for the NREMT?
Standard precautions apply to every patient: treat all blood and body fluids as potentially infectious. Match the barrier to the route: contact (gloves, gown), droplet (surgical mask), airborne (fitted N95 respirator). Hand hygiene before and after every patient contact, and after removing gloves — gloves do not replace it. Remove the most contaminated items first (gloves), touching only the clean inside surfaces as you go.
What should the crew communicate or document for Infection Control & PPE?
Airborne spread (tuberculosis, measles, chickenpox) needs a fit-tested respirator; a surgical mask on the provider is not enough.
