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Isolation precautions for healthcare staff

Staff Development Weekly: Insight on Evidence-Based Practice in Education, July 30, 2004

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Question: You have taken over a shift on the critical care unit floor to replace another health care worker who is out sick.  This is not normally the unit on which you work. The floor currently has a patient in an isolation room. Soon after you come on shift, the patient calls for a nurse. You answer the call, but you don't see a mask left on the isolation cart outside the patient's room. You decide to skip the mask and just check on the patient's needs without approaching within three feet of the patient. But when you enter the room, the patient is experiencing severe respiratory distress, and needs your help.  How could this have been avoided?

Answer: Anytime that you are drafted to work in a unit with which you're unfamiliar, be sure to locate all PPE at the beginning of your shift, and if ventilation devices or masks are likely to be needed, be certain that there is a selection that is a proper fit for you. If you don't know, ask. You could need the equipment quickly and not have time later to look for it. Never assume that PPE is not needed because you won't touch the patient or won't approach the patient closely enough to warrant it. Prepare for the unexpected, and take maximum precautions.

Editor's note: The above case scenario is from the online course, "Isolation precautions for healthcare staff: Addressing the threat of emerging infections." For more information on this and other courses in our Infection Control library, go to www.hcprofessor.com and click on Safety/Infection Control.

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