Infection Control and Patient Safety: cram pack

Formula sheets, the key method steps for every topic and 6 practice problems, with full solutions at the back.

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1Formulas and methods

Infection control & patient safety

Method

  1. Start with standard precautions for every patient: hand hygiene, PPE for the expected exposure, safe sharps.
  2. Add precautions by route: contact (gown, gloves), droplet (surgical mask), airborne (N95, negative-pressure room).
  3. Keep sterile items sterile: if in doubt, it is not sterile; replace, never wipe.
  4. Prevent harm in the environment: fall measures, restraints only as a last resort, RACE and PASS for fire.
  5. Check the rights of medication administration, two identifiers and extra safeguards for high-alert drugs; report errors and near misses.

2Practice problems

1.Infection control & patient safetyMedium

Which kitchen practice helps prevent scald burns in young children?

  1. ALeave hot drinks at the edge of the table
  2. BHold the child while drinking a hot drink
  3. CLet the child stand on a chair beside the stove
  4. DTurn pot handles toward the back of the stove
2.Infection control & patient safetyHard

A nurse has a needlestick from a patient whose HIV and hepatitis status is unknown. What should happen?

  1. AThe nurse is assumed to be infected and stops all work
  2. BThe source patient is tested per policy, and the nurse has baseline tests
  3. CThe nurse waits six months before having any blood tests at all
  4. DNothing, because the source patient is probably not infected
3.Nursing fundamentalsMedium

How can nurses help patients sleep better on a hospital ward at night?

  1. ADo routine tasks such as bed changes at midnight while it is quiet
  2. BGroup care and observations so patients are disturbed less often
  3. CGive every patient a sleeping tablet
  4. DKeep the main lights on so staff can see clearly
4.Nursing fundamentalsHard

Why is lifting a patient by placing your hands under their armpits (the "drag lift") considered unsafe?

  1. AIt can injure the patient's shoulders and the nurse's back
  2. BIt takes too long compared with using a hoist or slide sheet
  3. CIt is unsafe only when the patient is wearing a gown
  4. DIt is only unsafe for children
5.MicrobiologyMedium

Which infection is a typical complication of broad-spectrum antibiotic use, causing severe diarrhoea?

  1. ASalmonella infection
  2. BHelicobacter pylori infection
  3. CClostridioides difficile infection
  4. DHepatitis A
6.MicrobiologyHard

In the 1840s Ignaz Semmelweis lowered deaths from puerperal fever in a Vienna maternity clinic. What did he introduce?

  1. AVaccination of all mothers before birth
  2. BHandwashing with chlorinated lime before examining women
  3. CKeeping mothers in separate isolation rooms after delivery
  4. DTreating mothers with penicillin

3Solutions

1.Infection control & patient safety

Answer: D · Turn pot handles toward the back of the stove

Why this is the answer

Scalds from hot liquids are common childhood burns. Turning pot handles inward, using back burners and keeping hot drinks out of reach reduce the risk.

Answer

D · Turn pot handles toward the back of the stove
2.Infection control & patient safety

Answer: B · The source patient is tested per policy, and the nurse has baseline tests

Why this is the answer

After first aid and reporting, the source patient is tested according to law and policy, and the nurse has baseline testing. A rapid risk assessment decides whether HIV prophylaxis is started while results are awaited.

Answer

B · The source patient is tested per policy, and the nurse has baseline tests
3.Nursing fundamentals

Answer: B · Group care and observations so patients are disturbed less often

Why this is the answer

Clustering care, dimming lights, reducing noise and offering eye masks or earplugs improve sleep. Sedatives carry risks and are not routine.

Answer

B · Group care and observations so patients are disturbed less often
4.Nursing fundamentals

Answer: A · It can injure the patient's shoulders and the nurse's back

Why this is the answer

The drag lift puts high strain on the patient's shoulder joints and skin and on the handler's spine. Patients who cannot move themselves should be moved with slide sheets, standing aids or hoists.

Answer

A · It can injure the patient's shoulders and the nurse's back
5.Microbiology

Answer: C · Clostridioides difficile infection

Why this is the answer

Antibiotics kill normal gut bacteria, letting toxin-producing C. difficile overgrow. Its spores are not killed by alcohol gel, so soap and water handwashing is needed.

Answer

C · Clostridioides difficile infection
6.Microbiology

Answer: B · Handwashing with chlorinated lime before examining women

Why this is the answer

Semmelweis noticed higher mortality in the ward run by doctors who also did autopsies. Hand disinfection with chlorinated lime sharply reduced deaths, long before germ theory was accepted.

Answer

B · Handwashing with chlorinated lime before examining women

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