10–16% of the exam, and some of the most answerable points if you drill the categories cold. This is where isolation precautions, PPE sequence, restraint rules, and error prevention live — concrete rules the exam tests directly.
Standard precautions
Applied to every client regardless of diagnosis: hand hygiene, gloves for contact with body fluids, and additional PPE when splashing is likely. Hand hygiene before and after every client contact is the single most tested infection-control action.
Soap vs. alcohol rub: alcohol-based rub is fine for most situations, but spore-forming organisms (C. difficile) and visibly soiled hands require soap and water — alcohol does not kill spores.
Contact, droplet, and airborne
Sort each condition into its transmission-based precaution. A memory anchor for airborne is “My Chicken Hez TB” — Measles, Chickenpox (varicella), Herpes zoster (disseminated), TB.
| Precaution | PPE / room | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| Contact | Gown + gloves | C. diff, MRSA/VRE, RSV, scabies |
| Droplet | Surgical mask, private room | Influenza, pertussis, meningitis, mumps, rubella |
| Airborne | N95, negative-pressure room | Measles, varicella, TB (My Chicken Hez TB) |
PPE: the order that gets tested
Donning (putting on): gown → mask/respirator → goggles → gloves.
Doffing (taking off): gloves → goggles → gown → mask. The principle: remove the most contaminated item first, and remove the mask last, outside the room, because it protected your airway.
Restraints & fall prevention
- Least restrictive first. Try alternatives (reorientation, sitters, bed alarms) before any restraint.
- Restraints need a time-limited provider order — never PRN. Renew per policy.
- Tie to the bed frame, not the rail, with a quick-release knot; assess circulation, skin, and needs frequently.
- Falls: bed low and locked, call light in reach, non-slip footwear, clear path, and prompt answering of call lights.
Error prevention
- Two identifiers before every med, procedure, or specimen.
- Read-back verbal and telephone orders.
- Time out before procedures to confirm client, site, and procedure.
- Report near-misses and errors through an incident report — a systems-improvement tool, not a punishment, and not charted in the medical record.
Practice it: reinforce this category with explained questions in the question bank, and see how much of your exam it fills on the test plan page.
