The nurse assists the health care provider with the collection of ...

[burton19126]

The nurse assists the health care provider with the collection of cerebrospinal fluid. Which is an important safety measure for the nurse to follow immediately after collection of the sample?
 
  1. Maintain sterility of the procedure tray.
  2. Discard all sharps in a puncture-proof container.
  3. Label specimens and send to the lab.
  4. Remove PPE and discard.

Question 2

The nurse working in the emergency department is caring for a client who has projectile vomiting. The nurse is wearing personal protective equipment (PPE). How would the nurse properly discard the PPE?
 
  1. All PPE would be discarded in the hazardous waste container whenever leaving the client's room, and new PPE would be donned when returning to the room.
  2. The nurse could wear the same PPE if only leaving the room briefly and discard in the hazardous waste container when the client is transferred to the floor.
  3. The nurse removes the PPE and places it just inside the room to put back on when reentering the client's room, then discards into the hazardous waste container when the client is transferred.
  4. If the PPE is soiled, the nurse discards it when leaving the room, but if it is not visibly contaminated, the nurse can reapply the same PPE when reentering the client's room.

[Dunkey]

Answer to Question 1

Correct Answer: 2

The nurse's first action would be to discard sharps in the puncture-proof container to prevent potential injury. This should be performed before removing PPE. The next step would be to label the specimens and bag them, prior to removal of PPE, due to potential contamination of the outside of the specimen tubes. Once the procedure is completed, there is no need to maintain sterility of the procedure tray.

Answer to Question 2

Correct Answer: 1

When a client is projectile vomiting, there is a high risk of splatter that might not be seen by the nurse. The PPE should be discarded in the hazardous waste container when exiting the client's room, and clean PPE should be donned when reentering the room. Reapplying the same soiled PPE when reentering the room, whether visibly contaminated or not, would risk the nurse's exposure to body fluids, and would be incorrect technique. Under no circumstances should the nurse walk around the unit in contaminated PPE.