ANSWERS:

1. In the emergency room, the nurse assesses a 4-year-old child suspected of having
measles. Which of the following kinds of precautions should the nurse initiate?
A. Contact precautions
B. Droplet precautions
C. Airborne precautions
D. Reverse isolation

The Answer is C. Airborne precautions are used to prevent the transmission of

infectious agents that remain infectious over long distances when suspended in the
air.

2. Which of the following actions by the nurse is the MOST effective means of preventing
infection?
A. Washing hands after client contact
B. Washing hands after removing gloves
C. Hand hygiene between clients
D. Hand hygiene before entry to a client’s room and upon exit of a client’s room

The Answer is D. Hand hygiene should occur before entry and upon exit of all client
care transactions.

3. The adult children of a hospice home care client inquire about whether it is safe to hug
their mother, because she has had a methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus
(MRSA) infection in the past. Which of the following statements by the children would
indicate a need for further teaching by the nurse?
A. “We should wash our hands frequently.”
B. “We should use hand sanitizer.”
C. “Those of us with poor immune systems should be extra careful.”
D. “We should wear gowns and gloves at all times when having contact with our
mother.”

The Answer is D. The family does not have to wear gowns and gloves when
interacting with their mother. The infection occurred in the past; even if it was active,
gowns and gloves would not be required. Staff wear PPE to prevent spreading these
types of infections to other clients.

4. The nurse witnesses another nurse, wearing a gown and gloves, enter a client room
labeled “Airborne Precautions.” Which of the following actions by the witnessing nurse is
MOST appropriate?
A. Notify the nurse manager to discuss policies with the other nurse.
B. Ask a physician to give a presentation on which precautions require which types
of personal protective equipment (PPE).
C. Remind the other nurse that she needs a mask in addition to a gown and gloves
for airborne-type precautions.
D. Ask the other nurse to look up the policy about precautions.

The Answer is C. Remind the other nurse that she needs a mask in addition to a gown
and gloves for airborne-type precautions. The other nurse might need to review the
policy, but a gentle reminder to use a mask is the most professionally appropriate act
by the witnessing nurse.
5. The nurse is developing a care plan for a client with hepatitis C. The nurse knows that
the primary route of transmission of this hepatitis virus is which of the following?
A. Contaminated food
B. Feces
C. Blood
D. Sputum

The Answer is C. The nurse is developing a care plan for a client with hepatitis C.
The hepatitis C virus is transmitted through blood and parenteral routes.

6. As a knowledgeable nurse, you understand the act of cleaning one’s hands with the use
of any liquid with or without soap for the purpose of removing dirt or microorganisms?
A. Aseptic Technique
B. Handwashing
C. Medical Asepsis
D. Surgical Asepsis

7. Nurse Camille understands the principle of infection control which is known as clean
technique that includes procedures used to reduce the number of organisms on hands?
A. Aseptic Technique
B. Handwashing
C. Medical Asepsis
D. Surgical Asepsis

8. Nurse Ara is knowledgeable about the principle of infection control which is known as
sterile technique that prevents contamination of an open wound, serves to isolate the
operative area from the unsterile environment, and maintains a sterile field for surgery?
A. Aseptic Technique
B. Handwashing
C. Medical Asepsis
D. Surgical Asepsis

9. Application of 5 moments of hand hygiene is very essential as an infection control

practice because we are trying to reduce or eliminate which of the following?
A. Fungi
B. Bacteria
C. Viruses
D. All of the above

10. The clinical instructor asks her students the rationale for handwashing. The students are
correct if they answered that handwashing is expected to remove:
A. Transient flora from the skin.
B. Resident flora from the skin.
C. All microorganisms from the skin.
D. Media for bacterial growth.
11. A client has been placed in blood and body fluid isolation. The nurse is instructing
auxiliary personnel in the correct procedures. Which statement by the nursing assistant
indicates the best understanding of the correct protocol for blood and body fluid
isolation?
A. Masks should be worn with all client contact.
B. Gloves should be worn for contact with nonintact skin, mucous membranes, or
soiled items.
C. Isolation gowns are not needed.
D. A private room is always indicated.

12. The charge nurse observes a new staff nurse who is changing a dressing on a surgical
wound. After carefully washing her hands the nurse dons sterile gloves to remove the
old dressing. After removing the dirty dressing, the nurse removes the gloves and dons a
new pair of sterile gloves in preparation for cleaning and redressing the wound. The
most appropriate action for the charge nurse is to:
A. Interrupt the procedure to inform the staff nurse that sterile gloves are not
needed to remove the old dressing.
B. Congratulate the nurse on the use of good technique.
C. Discuss dressing change technique with the nurse at a later date.
D. Interrupt the procedure to inform the nurse of the need to wash her hands after
removal of the dirty dressing and gloves.

13. The nurse in charge is evaluating the infection control procedures on the unit. Which
finding indicates a break in technique and the need for education of staff?
A. The nurse aide is not wearing gloves when feeding an elderly client
B. A client with active tuberculosis is asked to wear a mask when he leaves his
room to go to another department for testing.
C. A nurse with open, weeping lesions of the hands puts on gloves before giving
direct client care.
D. The nurse puts on a mask, a gown, and gloves before entering the room of a
client on strict isolation.

14. Which of the following is the FIRST priority in preventing infections when providing care
for a client?
A. Handwashing
B. Wearing gloves
C. Using a barrier between client’s furniture and nurse’s bag
D. Wearing gowns and goggles

15. Which of the following statement needs further health teachings to your patients?
A. “I should sanitize first my hands with alcohol because it contains 70% solution
although point of care of handwashing is available.”
B. “I should perform frequent proper handwashing before and after touching my
patients.”
C. “I should practice proper cough etiquette at all times.”
D. All of the above
16. A 10-year-old client contracted severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) when
traveling abroad with her parents. The nurse knows she must put on personal protective
equipment to protect herself while providing care. Based on the mode of SARS
transmission, which personal protective equipment should the nurse wear?
A. Gloves
B. Gown and gloves
C. Gown, gloves, and mask
D. Gown, gloves, mask, and eye goggles or eye shield

17. An adult woman is admitted to an isolation unit in the hospital after tuberculosis was
detected during a pre-employment physical. Although frightened about her diagnosis,
she is anxious to cooperate with the therapeutic regimen. The teaching plan includes
information regarding the most common means of transmitting the tubercle bacillus from
one individual to another. Which contamination is usually responsible?
A. Hands
B. Eating utensil
C. Milk products
D. Droplet nuclei
18. The nurse is evaluating whether a nonprofessional staff understands how to prevent the
transmission of HIV. Which of the following behaviors indicates the correct application of
standard precautions?
A. An aide wears gloves to feed a helpless client.
B. A pregnant worker refuses to care for a client known to have AIDS.
C. A lab technician rests his hand on the desk to steady it while recapping the
needle after drawing blood.
D. An assistant puts on a mask and protective eyewear before assisting the nurse
to suction a tracheostomy.

ANS: B. A nurse with open, weeping lesions of the hands puts on gloves before
giving direct client care. Persons with exudative lesions or weeping dermatitis should
not give direct client care or handle client-care equipment until the condition
resolves. Strict isolation requires the use of a mask, gown, and gloves. Personnel
involved in treating high-risk infections should be specialized in isolation work and be
healthy, not immunosuppressed, and if possible should be vaccinated, if a vaccine is
available.

19. Jayson, 1-year-old child, has a staph skin infection. Her brother has also developed the
same infection. Which behavior by the children is most likely to have caused the
transmission of the organism?
A. Sharing pacifiers
B. Bathing together
C. Coughing on each other
D. Eating off the same plate

ANS: B. Bathing together. Direct contact is the mode of transmission for

staphylococcus. S. aureus are one the most common bacterial infections in humans
 and are the causative agents of multiple human infections, including bacteremia,
infective endocarditis, skin and soft tissue infections (e.g., impetigo, folliculitis,
furuncles, carbuncles, cellulitis, scalded skin syndrome, and others), osteomyelitis,
septic arthritis, prosthetic device infections, pulmonary infections (e.g., pneumonia
and empyema), gastroenteritis, meningitis, toxic shock syndrome, and urinary tract
infections.

20. Which action will you take to most effectively reduce the incidence of hospital-associated
urinary tract infections?
A. Limit the use of indwelling foley catheter (IFC)
B. Ensure that clients have enough adequate fluid intake
C. Perform dipstick urinalysis for clients with risk factors for UTI
D. Teach assistive personnel how to provide good perineal hygiene

ANS: A. Limit the use of indwelling foley catheter (IFC)

The most effective way to reduce the incidence of UTIs in the hospital setting is to
avoid using retention catheters. Among UTIs acquired in the hospital, approximately
75% are associated with a urinary catheter, which is a tube inserted into the bladder
through the urethra to drain urine. Between 15-25% of hospitalized patients receive
urinary catheters during their hospital stay. The most important risk factor for
developing a catheter-associated UTI (CAUTI) is prolonged use of the urinary
catheter.

21. You are the charge nurse on the pediatric unit when a pediatrician calls wanting to admit
a child with rubeola (measles). Which of these factors is of most concern in determining
whether to admit the child to your unit?
A. No negative-airflow rooms are available on the unit
B. The unit is not staffed with the usual number of RNs
C. The infection control nurse liaison is not on the unit today
D. There are several children receiving chemotherapy on the unit

ANS: A. No negative-airflow rooms are available on the unit. Because clients with
rubeola require the implementation of airborne precautions, which include placement
in a negative airflow room, this child cannot be admitted to the pediatric unit. An
airborne isolation room is also known as a negative pressure room. This negative
pressure room is usually a single-occupancy patient-care room frequently used to
isolated individuals with confirmed or suspected airborne infections. The other
circumstances may require actions such as staff reassignments but would not
prevent the admission of a client with rubeola.

22. A client has been diagnosed with disseminated herpes zoster. Which personal protective
equipment (PPE) will you need to put on when preparing to assess the client? Select all
that apply
A. Gown
B. Gloves
C. Goggles
 D. Shoe covers
E. N95 respirator
F. Surgical face mask

ANS: B, C, & E
Because herpes zoster is spread through airborne means and by direct contact with
the lesions, you should wear an N95 respirator or high-efficiency particulate air filter
respirator, a gown, and gloves.

23. As the infection control nurse in an acute care hospital, which action will you take to
most effectively reduce the incidence of health-care-associated infections?
A. Screen all newly admitted clients for colonization or infection with MRSA.
B. Require nursing staff to don gowns to change wound dressings for all clients.
C. Develop policies that automatically start antibiotic therapy for clients colonized by
multi-drug resistant organisms.
D. Ensure that dispensers for alcohol-based hand rubs are readily available in all
client care areas of the hospital.

ANS: D. Ensure that dispensers for alcohol-based hand rubs are readily available in
all client care areas of the hospital. Because the hands of healthcare workers are the
most common means of transmission of infection from one client to another, the
most effective method of preventing the spread of infection is to make supplies for
hand hygiene readily available for staff to use.

24. The nurse teaches a group of fire fighters about the spread of tuberculosis (TB). Which
statement by a fire fighter indicates the teaching has been effective?
A. “I need to refrain from shaking hands with an infected person.”
B. “I can share a cup of coffee with someone who is infected with TB.”
C. “I could get TB if I come in contact with blood from an infected person.”
D. “I could get TB if I inhale infected droplets when an infected individual coughs.”

ANS: Number D is correct.

Rationale: TB bacteria is spread through the air from one person to another. When a
person breathes in TB bacteria, the bacteria can settle in the lungs and begin to
grow.

25. A nurse is setting up a sterile field for wound dressing. One of the principles observed in
setting up her sterile equipments that she should consider is what portion of the sterile
field is not considered sterile?
A. The outer 1-inch border
B. The outer 2-inch border
C. The outer 3-inch border
D. The outer 1/2-inch border

26. The CDC standard precaution recommendations apply to which of the following?
A. Only patients with diagnosed infections
B. Only blood and body fluids with visible blood
 C. All body fluids including sweat
D. All patients receiving care in hospitals

27. Which organization(s) initially developed the guidelines for minimum protection
standards for infection prevention and control?
A. OSHA
B. The CDC
C. The state governing body
D. Individual healthcare facilities

28. For a nurse under normal conditions with unsoiled hands, effective hand hygiene
between patients requires which of the following?
A. That a mask be worn when scrubbing
B. Use of an alcohol-based antiseptic hand rub
C. At least a 15-second scrub with plain soap and water
D. At least a 23-minute scrub with an antimicrobial soap

29. A student nurse is demonstrating the proper procedure for maintaining a sterile field.
Which of the following guidelines should be followed? (Select all that apply.)
A. Never reach across a sterile field.
B. A dry area is micro-organism free.
C. Objects below the waist are considered unsterile.
D. One inch around the edges is considered contaminated.
E. A sterile object is still sterile if touched by a nonsterile object.

30. A client asks the nurse to explain how to perform a proper handwashing procedure.
Which of these responses would be the most appropriate for the nurse to make?
A. "Running water helps to wash away the dirt on your hands."
B. "Be sure to wet your hands thoroughly before using soap."
C. "It is okay to use your washed hands to turn off the faucet."
D. "You should wash your hands for at least 30 seconds before rinsing them."

31. A nursing student is preparing a presentation on aseptic techniques. Which of the

following statements should be included in the presentation?
A. Dirty items contain organisms that have the potential to cause infection.
B. Surgical asepsis includes practices that inhibit the growth of organisms.
C. Sepsis is the absence of disease-causing microorganisms.
D. When dealing with sterile areas, medical asepsis practices may be used.

32. Select the correct statements:

A. All of the above.
B. Skin must be free of open lesions or cracks.
C. Fingernails should be short, clean and healthy.
D. cuticles should be clean and in good condition
E. Hands and forearms should be inspected for cuts and abrasions
33. The nurse knows that when doing hand washing all of the following statements apply
when drying the hands and arms except:
A. bend over slightly from the waist
B. begin drying with the hand and move up the arm
C. dry thoroughly to avoid skin irritation
D. roll the towel before discarding into the appropriate container

34. Nurse Danny is assigned as the scrub nurse for the scheduled appendectomy of Mr.
Oliver. The surgeon advised to use a close glove technique to prevent contamination.
The closed-glove technique is used:
A. only when the hands have never passed through the gown cuffs
B. when re-gloving without assistance during the procedure
C. to assist a surgeon in donning sterile attire
D. as a method for corrective glove contamination

35. When performing a surgical scrub with an antimicrobial agent, how far up the arm must
an individual scrub?
A. to the elbow
B. up to the armpit
C. two inches above the elbow
D. four inches above the waist

36. One of the difficult things to remember regarding Standard Precautions is to always
A. Perform hand hygiene before gloving.
B. Instruct the patient when to use gloves.
C. Turn gloves inside out when removing them.
D. Perform hand hygiene after removing gloves even when no contamination
occurred

37. A student nurse is asked by a staff nurse to help change the beddings of a patient. The
student nurse is knowledgeable when she knows changing the bed of an incontinent
patient, she should wear both gloves and a gown because
A. Feces stains are hard to remove.
B. Contamination of the uniform is likely.
C. The uniform will carry an odor after this task.
D. Urine will soak through the uniform to the skin.

38. The goal of nursing actions is the same for surgical asepsis and for protective isolation;
that is, to
A. Protect the nurse from infection.
B. Confine the organisms to the infected patient.
C. Protect other people from the microorganism.
D. Reduce the microorganisms in the vicinity of the patient.

39. You are providing care to a patient with C. Diff. After removing the appropriate PPE, you
would perform hand hygiene by:
A. Using hand sanitizer
B. Using soap and water
 C. Using soap and water only if hands are soiled but can use hand sanitizer
D. Using either hand sanitizer or soap and water

40. You’re providing an in-service on transmission-based precautions to a group of nursing

students. Which statement made by a student warrants re-education about the topic?
A. “I will always wear a gown and gloves when entering a room of a patient in
contact precautions.”
B. “Patients with airborne diseases such as Meningitis require a special room with
negative air pressure.”
C. “I will make sure that any patient who is in droplet precaution wears a surgical
mask when being transported.”
D. “If I provide care to patients with C. Diff, Noravirus, and Rotavirus infections, I will
always wash my hands with soap and water, not hand sanitizer.”
41. Your patient in droplet precautions has family visiting. A family member asks how far
they should stand away from the patient while visiting. Your response is:
A. 2 feet or more
B. 3 feet or more
C. 6 feet or more
D. Stand at the doorway

42. Nurse Maria is assigned in the isolation room. The patient requires droplet precautions.
There is 1 mask left outside the room. What is the best action for Maria to do?
A. Not use the mask
B. Use the mask and return it for re-use
C. Use the mask and re-stock the masks
D. Wait until a co-worker re-stocks the masks to give care

43. A nurse is providing care to her patients. She is doing the right thing if she does the what
task by wearing gloves?
A. Providing denture care
B. Giving a back massage
C. Measuring blood pressure
D. Moving the person up in bed

44. A specimen is needed from a patient on transmission-based precautions. Which

contaminates the specimen container?
A. Handling the container with a paper towel
B. Placing the specimen in a biohazard bag
C. Spilling the specimen on the outside of the container
D. Placing the container on a paper towel in the bathroom

45. A nurse is following the principles of medical asepsis when performing patient care in a
hospital setting. Which nursing action performed by the nurse follows these
recommended guidelines?
A. The nurse places soiled bed linens and hospital gowns on the floor when making
the bed.
B. The nurse moves the patient table away from the nurse's body when wiping it off
after a meal.
 C. The nurse cleans the most soiled items in the patient's bathroom first and follows
with the cleaner items.
D. The nurse carries the patients' soiled bed linens close to the body to prevent
spreading microorganisms into the air.

46. A nurse is performing hand hygiene after providing patient care. The nurse's hands are
not visibly soiled. Which steps in this procedure are performed correctly? Select all that
apply.
A. The nurse washes hands to one inch above the wrists.
B. The nurse uses approximately two teaspoons of liquid soap.
C. The nurse rinses thoroughly with water flowing toward fingertips.
D. The nurse removes all jewelry including a platinum wedding band.
E. The nurse uses friction motion when washing for at least 15 seconds.
F. The nurse keeps hands higher than elbows when placing under faucet.

47. A student nurse is observing a staff nurse working at the emergency department. She
knows that as a standard precaution when receiving patients with suspected infection
the staff nurse should wear PPE. When should gloves be donned if you are wearing
additional PPE?
A. Before donning a gown
B. Before donning a mask
C. Before donning eyewear
D. After donning a gown, masks, and eyewear

48. According to the CDC standard precaution guidelines which patients should be
considered infectious?
A. Pediatric and elderly patients
B. Patients with a cough and fever
C. Homeless and addicted patients
D. All patients should be considered infectious

49. Nurse Eva was assigned to take care of a patient in the isolation room. After giving care
to her patient she removes her PPE. Where should a disposable gown be placed after
use?
A. In a trash can
B. In the linens closet
C. In a biohazardous linens bag
D. In a biohazardous waste container

50. How can you tell whether a trash container is for regular or biohazardous waste?
A. A regular waste container uses a yellow bag.
B. It all ends up in the same container eventually, so only sort waste if you have
time
C. A biohazardous container has a red bag marked with the universal biohazardous
symbol.
D. There is only one biohazardous waste container per facility and it is located near
the nurse station.