On-demand: “Personal Protective Equipment: What You Don’t Know Can Hurt You”
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Pfiedler Education* presents…On-demand: “Personal Protective Equipment: What You Don’t Know Can Hurt You”
Every healthcare working who cares for patients, or supports the staff who care for patients, will most likely have to use personal protective equipment (PPE) at some point during their work duties. Whether a nurse, a sterile processing technician, an environmental services employee, a radiation technologist, or a staff member functioning in one of many other positions, healthcare workers need to protect themselves from transmissible diseases, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic and from possible future threats to our health.
Standard precautions should be practices with every patient but there are times that more focused precautions must be taken, such as airborne and droplet precautions, depending on how the infecting microorganism is spread. Handwashing and the use of protective attire are tools we must use against disease transmission. However, if PPE is put on (donned) or taken off (doffed) incorrectly, the PPE will not serve its purpose of protection and the wearer could become a victim of disease.
Because, unfortunately, transmissible diseases are not going away and there are forecasts of coming pandemics, it is important to learn how to don and doff PPE and to do it correctly every single time. This will prove useful now and in the coming years ahead. This learning activity will illustrate the proper use of PPE along with helping the learning to understand the rationale behind each action.
Learning Objectives | Upon completion of this course, the learner will be able to:
- Describe types of PPE, differentiating between the protection levels of gowns, masks, and respirator options that are available.
- Discuss Standard Precautions and Transmission-Based Precautions, along with the three major modes of disease transmission and appropriate PPE for each.
- Summarize the proper use of PPE and the major points of donning and doffing to reduce cross-contamination and ensure maximum protection from disease transmission.
Target Audience: This continuing education activity is intended for a nurse, central services professional, sterile processing technician, surgical technologist, or other healthcare professional who wants to learn more or needs to gain knowledge and skills in how to correctly don and doff PPE and therefore protect oneself from transmissible diseases.
California Board of Registered Nursing Association of periOperative Registered Nurses is provider-approved by the California Board of Registered Nursing, Provider Number CEP 13019 for 1.0 contact hour.
This content was created in June 2021 and expires in June 2023.
Pfiedler Education gratefully acknowledges educational grants provided by 3M | Aspen Surgical
Questions? Contact Pfiedler Education at Pfiedler Webinars: webinars@pfiedler.com, or call 720-748-6144
* NOTE: This is a supplier and industry resource-sponsored webinar. HealthTrust has not approved and/or endorsed the content. This program may contain the mention of products, services, drugs or brands presented in a case study or comparative format. Such examples are intended for educational and informational purposes and should not be perceived as a HealthTrust endorsement of any particular supplier, product, service, drug, brand or approach