Infection control & patient safety worksheet with answers

Under US OSHA rules, how often must a health care worker be fit-tested for a tight-fitting respirator such as an N95?

1. AEvery five years, at license renewal
2. BOnly after the worker has an exposure
3. COnce only, when the worker is first hired by the hospital
4. DAt least once a year, and when the model changes

What should be written instead of “cc” in a medication order?

1. Acm
2. BmL
3. Ccc only for oral drugs
4. DU

Which example shows indirect contact transmission?

1. AA person inhales tiny particles that hang in the air of a room
2. BLarge droplets from a sneeze land directly on a nearby person’s face
3. CA mosquito bites an infected person and then a healthy one
4. DBacteria on a bed rail reach a nurse’s hands and then another patient

Hair must be removed from a planned surgical site. Which method reduces the risk of surgical site infection?

1. AClipping with electric clippers just before surgery
2. BShaving with a razor just before the incision
3. CShaving with a disposable razor the night before surgery
4. DUsing wax strips on the morning of surgery

A patient with a respiratory infection has a raised procalcitonin level. What does this most suggest?

1. AA purely viral illness
2. BAn allergic reaction to a recent medication
3. CDehydration from poor intake
4. DA bacterial rather than a viral infection

A newly hired nurse had BCG vaccine as a child. Which TB screening test is usually preferred?

1. AA chest x-ray every month for the first year
2. BA tuberculin skin test, which is read 24 hours after it is placed
3. CNo screening, because BCG prevents all TB
4. DAn interferon-gamma release assay (IGRA) blood test

Shortly after a patient falls, the team holds a brief “post-fall huddle”. What is its main purpose?

1. ATo decide which staff member was to blame for the fall
2. BTo complete the patient’s discharge paperwork
3. CTo agree on what the team will tell the patient’s lawyer and the family
4. DTo find out quickly why the fall happened and change the care plan to prevent another

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. BNothing, because the source patient is probably not infected
3. CThe nurse waits six months before having any blood tests at all
4. DThe source patient is tested per policy, and the nurse has baseline tests