Fundamentals of Nursing Practice Test #2: Infection Control & Asepsis

Answer: A. An N95 respirator and a negative-pressure room

Rationale: Tuberculosis spreads by airborne droplet nuclei that stay suspended in the air. Airborne precautions require a fit-tested N95 (or higher) respirator and an airborne infection isolation room with negative pressure. A surgical mask does not filter these particles; the client wears a surgical mask when leaving the room.

Answer: A. Reaching across the sterile field

Rationale: Reaching across the field can drop particles or brush the field with a non-sterile arm or sleeve. Keeping items above the waist, facing the field, and treating the outer 1-inch border as contaminated are all correct sterile technique.

Answer: B. Droplet precautions

Rationale: Influenza spreads by large respiratory droplets that travel a short distance. Droplet precautions — a surgical mask on entering the room, plus standard precautions — are used. Airborne precautions are for diseases like tuberculosis, measles, and varicella.

Answer: C. Activate the safety device and place it in the sharps container

Rationale: Activating the safety device and discarding the needle immediately in a puncture-resistant sharps container prevents needlestick injuries. Two-handed recapping and bending needles are leading causes of needlesticks, and leaving a used needle on a tray puts the next person at risk.

Answer: D. Mode of transmission

Rationale: Hands are the most common way microorganisms move from one person or surface to another. Cleaning them interrupts the mode of transmission. Vaccination strengthens the susceptible host, and treating the infection targets the agent.

Answer: D. Slide the gloved fingers under the folded cuff of the second glove

Rationale: A sterile glove may only touch another sterile surface. The outside of the second glove, under the cuff, is sterile, so the gloved fingers slide underneath it. The inside of the glove is touched only by the bare hand, and only while putting on the first glove.

Answer: B. Performing hand hygiene

Rationale: Hand hygiene remains the most effective measure for preventing healthcare-associated infections. Gloves do not replace it, routine antibiotics promote resistance, and isolating every client is neither practical nor necessary.

Answer: C. Screen visitors and staff for signs of illness before they enter

Rationale: A client with a very low neutrophil count cannot fight infection, so anyone who is ill is kept out. Fresh flowers and standing water can harbor organisms, rectal temperatures can injure the mucosa and introduce bacteria, and equipment should be dedicated to the client.

Answer: D. Rub all surfaces of the hands until they are dry

Rationale: Alcohol needs contact time to kill organisms, so the rub should cover all surfaces of the hands and fingers and be rubbed in until dry, about 20 seconds. Rinsing or towel-drying removes it before it has worked.

Answer: C. Gown

Rationale: The CDC sequence for putting on PPE is gown, then mask or respirator, then goggles or face shield, then gloves. Gloves go on last so they can be pulled over the cuffs of the gown.