DANB RHS Radiation Health and Safety - Set 5 - Part 3

Correct Answer: gloves

Gloves go on last so they stay clean and cover the gown cuffs, and they come off first during doffing because they are the most contaminated item after patient care. Option b is incorrect because the gown is put on early and removed near the end, the opposite of the gloves, which are donned last and taken off first in the sequence. Option c is incorrect because the mask is donned before the gloves and removed after them, so it is not the item that goes on last and comes off first. Option d is incorrect because eyewear is placed before the gloves and removed after them, so it does not fit the gloves-on-last, gloves-off-first rule the question describes.

Correct Answer: perform hand hygiene

Hand hygiene is the final step after all personal protective equipment is removed, because the hands may have been contaminated during doffing and must be cleaned before anything else. Option a is incorrect because opening a supply drawer with hands that were just freed from contaminated equipment would spread that contamination, so hand hygiene must always come first instead. Option b is incorrect because seating the next patient before washing risks transferring contamination to them, so hand hygiene, not the next patient, is the immediate final step. Option c is incorrect because re-gloving over unwashed hands seals contamination against the skin; hand hygiene must be performed before any new gloves are donned over them.

Correct Answer: spatter or coughing is anticipated

A mask and protective eyewear guard the face and eyes from spray and spatter, so they are indicated whenever spatter is anticipated, such as with a coughing or gagging patient. Option a is incorrect because dim lighting is addressed by adjusting the lights, not by facial protection, so it is not what triggers the use of a mask and eyewear. Option b is incorrect because a calm patient lowers the chance of spatter, which would reduce rather than create the need for mask and eyewear, so this reverses the indication. Option d is incorrect because torn gloves call for replacing the gloves; the issue is hand protection, not the facial barrier that a mask and protective eyewear provide.

Correct Answer: provided by the employer at no cost

OSHA requires the employer to provide personal protective equipment to staff at no cost, since protecting employees from occupational exposure on the job is the employer's clear legal responsibility. Option a is incorrect because requiring employees to buy their own protective equipment would violate the OSHA rule that places the cost and duty of provision on the employer. Option c is incorrect because sharing protective equipment between patients would spread contamination; items like gloves are single-use, so sharing them between patients defeats their entire protective purpose. Option d is incorrect because protective equipment is not optional during imaging, where exposure to saliva and spatter is expected; its use is required, not left to preference.

Correct Answer: gloves last

Donning proceeds from hand hygiene to gown, then mask, then eyewear, and finishes with gloves last, so the gloves stay clean and cover the cuffs of the gown. Option b is incorrect because the gown is put on early in the sequence, not last; ending with the gown would leave the gloves on before it, reversing the proper order. Option c is incorrect because the mask is donned before the eyewear and gloves, so the sequence does not end with the mask but continues on to the gloves. Option d is incorrect because eyewear is placed before the gloves, so although it comes late, the very last item donned is the gloves, not the protective eyewear.

Correct Answer: utility gloves

Utility gloves are the heavy, reusable gloves used for cleanup and instrument processing, summed up as cleanup, not care, and they are never worn for treating patients during care. Option a is incorrect because exam gloves are single-use gloves worn during patient care, the opposite of the durable, reusable gloves meant for cleanup and processing tasks. Option b is incorrect because sterile surgical gloves are for invasive procedures requiring sterility, not for the cleanup and instrument handling that heavy utility gloves are designed for. Option d is incorrect because overgloves are thin gloves slipped over treatment gloves to touch a clean item mid-procedure, not the heavy reusable gloves used for cleanup.

Correct Answer: overgloves

Overgloves are slipped over the contaminated treatment gloves to touch a clean item or surface mid-procedure, then removed and discarded, which keeps the clean item from being contaminated. Option a is incorrect because using bare hands would mean removing gloves mid-procedure and exposing the skin, the opposite of the quick, clean retrieval overgloves are meant to allow. Option b is incorrect because utility gloves are reserved for cleanup and instrument processing, not for reaching for a clean item during patient care, so they do not fit this purpose. Option c is incorrect because a sterile gown is body protection, not a tool for touching a drawer handle, so it cannot serve the mid-procedure retrieval the question describes.

Correct Answer: causes wicking and defects

Washing exam gloves causes wicking, drawing fluid through tiny defects, and weakens the material, so single-use gloves are discarded after one patient rather than washed and reused. Option b is incorrect because washing does not sterilize a glove; it actually compromises the material, so the idea that rinsing makes a used glove safe to reuse is mistaken. Option c is incorrect because washing degrades rather than improves the fit, since the material weakens and can wick fluid, making a reused glove less protective, not more comfortable. Option d is incorrect because OSHA does not require reusing exam gloves; on the contrary, single-use gloves are meant to be discarded, so washing them is never a requirement.

Correct Answer: indirect contact with touched surfaces

Cross-contamination in radiography is mostly indirect, traveling by way of surfaces and objects a contaminated glove touches, which is why barriers, aseptic technique, and hand hygiene are emphasized. Option a is incorrect because direct mouth contact does transfer organisms, but the dominant route in imaging is indirect, through the many surfaces a contaminated glove touches between steps. Option c is incorrect because sterile instruments are free of organisms by definition, so they are not the route of contamination; the risk lies in contaminated surfaces touched indirectly. Option d is incorrect because the primary beam is radiation, not a vehicle for microorganisms, so it cannot spread infection; contamination instead travels by physical contact with touched surfaces.

Correct Answer: sterile cotton pliers or a paper towel

Aseptic retrieval uses sterile cotton pliers, clean tongs, overgloves, or a paper towel to open or reach into a container, so a contaminated glove never touches the clean contents directly. Option a is incorrect because a bare contaminated glove touching the clean contents is exactly what aseptic retrieval prevents, so it is the wrong way to reach into the container. Option b is incorrect because the patient's napkin is not a sterile or clean retrieval aid and would itself be contaminated, so it cannot protect the contents of the container. Option c is incorrect because an ungloved hand exposes the skin and still contaminates the contents if the hand is not clean, so it is not an acceptable aseptic retrieval method.