PCS EXAM 2 QUESTIONS & ANSWERS
Describe the importance of hand hygiene? Define the two main clinic methods of hand
hygiene? - Answers -- •Cleaning your hands reduces:
•The spread of potentially deadly germs to patients
•The risk of healthcare provider colonization or infection caused by germs acquired from
the patient
- 1. Washing with Soap & Water vs. 2. Alcohol-Based Hand Sanitizer
•Alcohol-based: most effective for reducing the number of germs on the hands, the
PREFERRED method
•Wash your hands with soap and water whenever they are visibly dirty, before eating,
and after using the restroom.
Describe when to perform hand hygiene and which method to use? - Answers -- Use
alcohol when:
•Immediately before touching a patient
•Before performing an aseptic task (e.g., placing an indwelling device) or handling
invasive medical devices
•Before moving from work on a soiled body site to a clean body site on the same patient
•After touching a patient or the patient's immediate environment
•After contact with blood, body fluids or contaminated surfaces
•Immediately after glove removal
- Use soap and water when:
•When hands are visibly soiled
•After caring for a person with known or suspected infectious diarrhea
•After known or suspected exposure to spores (e.g. B. anthracis, C difficile outbreaks)
Describe how to perform hand hygiene including proper glove use? - Answers -- •When
using alcohol-based hand sanitizer:
•Put product on hands and rub hands together
•Cover all surfaces until hands feel dry
•This should take around 20 seconds
•wet your hands first with water
•apply the amount of product recommended by the manufacturer to your hands and rub
your hands together vigorously for at least 15 seconds, covering all surfaces of the
hands and fingers.
•Rinse your hands with water and use disposable towels to dry.
•Use towel to turn off the faucet.
•Avoid using hot water, to prevent drying of skin.
- gloves: anticipated that contact with blood or other potentially infectious materials,
mucous membranes, non-intact skin, potentially contaminated skin or contaminated
equipment could occur
: •Gloves are NOT a substitute for hand hygiene.
•If your task requires gloves, perform hand hygiene prior to donning gloves, before
touching the patient or the patient environment.
, •Perform hand hygiene immediately after removing gloves.
•Change gloves and perform hand hygiene during patient care, if? Describe what can
be learned about a patient through observation? - Answers -- •gloves become
damaged,
•gloves become visibly soiled with blood or body fluids following a task,
•moving from work on a soiled body site to a clean body site on the same patient or if
another clinical indication for hand hygiene occurs
: Never wear the same pair of gloves in the care of more than one patient
- observation: begins as soon as you enter the room (•(maybe even before - walking
down the hall from the lobby, for instance.)
•Tools = Eyes (and sometimes Nose and Ears!)
•Your goal is to describe the distinguishing features of the patient so clearly that
colleagues can spot the patient in a crowd of strangers, avoiding clichés like "middle-
aged gentleman" and the uninformative "in no acute distress."
: apparent state of health, level of consciousness
Signs of Distress? observation specifics? Verbalize normal findings for
observation/inspection, palpation, and percussion? - Answers -- •Does the patient show
evidence of the problems listed below?
• Cardiac or respiratory distress, Pain, Anxiety or depression
•Is there clutching of the chest, pallor, diaphoresis, labored breathing, wheezing, or
coughing?
•Is there wincing, diaphoresis, protectiveness of a painful area, grimacing, or an unusual
posture favoring one limb or region of the body?
•Are there anxious facial expressions, fidgety movements, cold moist palms,
inexpressive or flat affect, poor eye contact, or psychomotor slowing?
- Skin Color and Obvious Lesions, Dress, Grooming, and Personal Hygiene, Odors of
the Body and Breath (•fruity odor of diabetes or the scent of alcohol), Posture, Gait, and
Motor Activity***Never assume that alcohol on a patient's breath explains changes in
mental status or neurologic findings.
- •Always start with inspection of the area of patient's concern.
inspection? what to say and and what not to say? palpatation? - Answers -- •Always
start with inspection of the area of patient's concern.
: •Is the area of concern Red? Swollen? masses? joint deviation or deformity?
asymmetry? nasal flaring, cyanosis or lip pursing? rashes or skin lesions? missing teeth
or gum disease? discharge? foreign bodies? Muscle wasting or hypertrophy? Any
tattoos or piercings??
- What not to say:
•"Everything looks fine."
•"That all looks all right."
What to say:
•"I don't see any redness, swelling, bruising or deformities."
•"No asymmetry noted."
•"Respirations are even and unlabored."
Describe the importance of hand hygiene? Define the two main clinic methods of hand
hygiene? - Answers -- •Cleaning your hands reduces:
•The spread of potentially deadly germs to patients
•The risk of healthcare provider colonization or infection caused by germs acquired from
the patient
- 1. Washing with Soap & Water vs. 2. Alcohol-Based Hand Sanitizer
•Alcohol-based: most effective for reducing the number of germs on the hands, the
PREFERRED method
•Wash your hands with soap and water whenever they are visibly dirty, before eating,
and after using the restroom.
Describe when to perform hand hygiene and which method to use? - Answers -- Use
alcohol when:
•Immediately before touching a patient
•Before performing an aseptic task (e.g., placing an indwelling device) or handling
invasive medical devices
•Before moving from work on a soiled body site to a clean body site on the same patient
•After touching a patient or the patient's immediate environment
•After contact with blood, body fluids or contaminated surfaces
•Immediately after glove removal
- Use soap and water when:
•When hands are visibly soiled
•After caring for a person with known or suspected infectious diarrhea
•After known or suspected exposure to spores (e.g. B. anthracis, C difficile outbreaks)
Describe how to perform hand hygiene including proper glove use? - Answers -- •When
using alcohol-based hand sanitizer:
•Put product on hands and rub hands together
•Cover all surfaces until hands feel dry
•This should take around 20 seconds
•wet your hands first with water
•apply the amount of product recommended by the manufacturer to your hands and rub
your hands together vigorously for at least 15 seconds, covering all surfaces of the
hands and fingers.
•Rinse your hands with water and use disposable towels to dry.
•Use towel to turn off the faucet.
•Avoid using hot water, to prevent drying of skin.
- gloves: anticipated that contact with blood or other potentially infectious materials,
mucous membranes, non-intact skin, potentially contaminated skin or contaminated
equipment could occur
: •Gloves are NOT a substitute for hand hygiene.
•If your task requires gloves, perform hand hygiene prior to donning gloves, before
touching the patient or the patient environment.
, •Perform hand hygiene immediately after removing gloves.
•Change gloves and perform hand hygiene during patient care, if? Describe what can
be learned about a patient through observation? - Answers -- •gloves become
damaged,
•gloves become visibly soiled with blood or body fluids following a task,
•moving from work on a soiled body site to a clean body site on the same patient or if
another clinical indication for hand hygiene occurs
: Never wear the same pair of gloves in the care of more than one patient
- observation: begins as soon as you enter the room (•(maybe even before - walking
down the hall from the lobby, for instance.)
•Tools = Eyes (and sometimes Nose and Ears!)
•Your goal is to describe the distinguishing features of the patient so clearly that
colleagues can spot the patient in a crowd of strangers, avoiding clichés like "middle-
aged gentleman" and the uninformative "in no acute distress."
: apparent state of health, level of consciousness
Signs of Distress? observation specifics? Verbalize normal findings for
observation/inspection, palpation, and percussion? - Answers -- •Does the patient show
evidence of the problems listed below?
• Cardiac or respiratory distress, Pain, Anxiety or depression
•Is there clutching of the chest, pallor, diaphoresis, labored breathing, wheezing, or
coughing?
•Is there wincing, diaphoresis, protectiveness of a painful area, grimacing, or an unusual
posture favoring one limb or region of the body?
•Are there anxious facial expressions, fidgety movements, cold moist palms,
inexpressive or flat affect, poor eye contact, or psychomotor slowing?
- Skin Color and Obvious Lesions, Dress, Grooming, and Personal Hygiene, Odors of
the Body and Breath (•fruity odor of diabetes or the scent of alcohol), Posture, Gait, and
Motor Activity***Never assume that alcohol on a patient's breath explains changes in
mental status or neurologic findings.
- •Always start with inspection of the area of patient's concern.
inspection? what to say and and what not to say? palpatation? - Answers -- •Always
start with inspection of the area of patient's concern.
: •Is the area of concern Red? Swollen? masses? joint deviation or deformity?
asymmetry? nasal flaring, cyanosis or lip pursing? rashes or skin lesions? missing teeth
or gum disease? discharge? foreign bodies? Muscle wasting or hypertrophy? Any
tattoos or piercings??
- What not to say:
•"Everything looks fine."
•"That all looks all right."
What to say:
•"I don't see any redness, swelling, bruising or deformities."
•"No asymmetry noted."
•"Respirations are even and unlabored."
