Common Mistakes: Infection Control and PPE
These are the specific ways this task goes wrong on the job — not hypothetical edge cases, but patterns that cause real documentation errors, patient-safety issues, or workflow problems.
Treating glove use as a substitute for handwashing rather than an addition to it.
Removing PPE out of order (e.g., taking off the mask before the gloves), risking self-contamination.
Wiping disinfectant off a surface before its required contact time has elapsed, leaving pathogens unaddressed.
Recapping or manually manipulating a used needle instead of dropping it directly into a sharps container.
How the Quality Checkpoints Prevent These
Every mistake above is caught by one of this task's quality checkpoints — the habit of checking these consistently is what actually prevents the error, not just knowing it exists.
- ✓
Hand hygiene happens before and after every patient contact, independent of whether gloves were also used.
- ✓
PPE donning and doffing follow the correct sequence, not an abbreviated version.
- ✓
Disinfectant contact (dwell) time is honored, not wiped off early.
- ✓
Any exposure incident is reported immediately, not after finishing the current task.
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