How do you apply infection control principles in your every day nursing practice and give some examples.

Question 1

How do you apply infection control principles in your every

day nursing practice and give some examples.

Answer 1

As a RN it is vital to understand and encourage a culture where prevention and control of infection is everyone’s reasonability

• know the chain of infection and intervene at one of more steps.
• 5 moments of hand hygiene; wash with soap or antibac hand rub
• precautions; standard, contact, airborne and droplet
• PPE - stop hospital acquired infections
• waste management + sharps disposal EG - cytoxic example
• lien bins
• single use equipment and processing of reusable
• ANTT
• education
• needle stick injury
• vaccination
• PRIAVCY and CONFIDENTALITY
• INFECTION CONTROL POLICYS + PROCEDURES + MANUAL

Question 2

Quality Improvement is an important part of the nursing
role. Can you please tell us how you will incorporate this
into your RN role

Answer 2

 Evidence based practice is utilised
 Current knowledge of best practice, current literature & trends
 Involvement in quality improvement activities on the ward ie audits, surveys, pt satisfaction
surveys, hazard register etc
 Team work, leadership & a safe & positive working environment

Question 3

You notice smoke coming from the rubbish bin in the
corridor,
What action would you take?

Answer 3

Assess situation
 RACE: remove, announce, contain, extinguish
 Raise alarm
 Report to manager
 Use appropriate fire extinguisher/ fire blanket/ hose
 Adhere to evacuation procedures
 Incident notification
 Reassure patients

Question 4

As you are entering the ward, you notice a blood stained

urine spill on the floor? What action would you take?

Answer 4

 Assess area, safety of others
 Sign post (to alert others)
 Determine which pt it came from, assess pt, notify Dr if required
 Ensure cleaned up (cleaner /self)
 Report incident
 PPE
 Standard precautions
 Pt confidentiality

Question 5

You are caring for a patient who has (SOMETHING)
Please describe how you can protect yourself, other staff
and family members when caring for this patient.

Answer 5

 Delivering care according to Policies and guidelines
 Consultation with team leader/ other staff
 Consultation with infection control nurse, if available
 Standard precautions and Contact Precautions
 Hand washing, PPE, and single room
 Education of the patient and family and other staff
 Awareness of how the disease is spread
 Pt confidentiality

Question 6

The CNS asks you to help lift a patient from the floor to

the bed. What would you do?

Answer 6

 Leave patient on the floor- do not lift- OHS
 Responsibility to protect yourself and others from injury as per OH&S legislation
 Responsibility to inform the other nurse to use a lifter
 Assess environment safety , room to move
 Use lifter/lifting aid/team lifting if patient unable to stand unaided
 Reassure and explain care and educate the patient and family
 Incident notification
 Documentation in notes if appropriate

Question 7

Can you please tell the panel how you would transfer a

patient with limited mobility from a bed to a chair?

Answer 7

 Ascertain the mobility of the patient & why
 Safety and comfort to the patient
 Safety to staff/injury
 Use of mechanical aids, know how to use correctly
 Limitation of movement of patient.
 Consult Physiotherapist if available
 Patient awareness, co-operation
 Environmental issues
 Patient privacy
 Protect skin

Question 8

You are doing a dressing in the treatment room and the
patient becomes aggressive. How would you respond to
this situation?

Answer 8

Call for assistance and help
 Stay calm
 Safety and OH&S
 Ensure own safety, use duress alarm or call security
 Communicate/request assistance from other staff
 Assess and evaluate the situation
 Attempt to de-escalate. Utilise aggression minimisation techniques
 Be prepared to withdraw (remain in a doorway, have an exit planned)
 Reassure the other patients in the room
 Incident notification
 Report to manager/ inform team
 Documentation in clinical record with assistance from experienced staff
 Debrief to others following the situation, use EAP if needed

Question 9

A colleague tells you that it’s not necessary to wash your
hands as long as you wear gloves. Do you agree, and
why?

Answer 9

 No. Gloves are used in addition to hand hygiene, not instead of hand hygiene.
 Gloves might have microscopic holes, so hand hygiene must be performed before donning or
removing gloves.
 Educate colleague about standard precautions
 Notify NUM/ Educator
 Encourage a culture where prevention and control of infections is everyone’s responsibility
 Know the “chain of infection” and intervene at one or more steps to interrupt the transmission
 Wash hands regularly or regular use of antibacterial hand gel
 Define /understand standard precautions
 Appropriate use of PPE gloves, goggles, mask, apron