Sharps Safety and Bloodborne Pathogens
Preventing needlestick injuries and exposure to blood and body fluids for anyone who works near sharps or blood: hepatitis B, hepatitis C and HIV and how they are transmitted, provincial needle safety regulations requiring safety-engineered devices, routine practices and additional precautions, safe handling and disposal of sharps, sharps containers, spills of blood and body fluids, hepatitis B vaccination, what to do after an exposure and post-exposure prophylaxis, reporting and follow-up, and an exposure control plan for a clinic.
HSE-392 12 lessons · 4 h 27 min ▶ Video lessons coming soon
Offered by HSM University · Safety Training
This is the Canadian version of this course. See the American version.
What you'll learn
- Explain how hepatitis B, hepatitis C and HIV spread at work, which body fluids carry the risk, and how likely infection is after a needlestick, splash or contact with broken skin.
- Describe the duties of employers, supervisors and workers under the OHSA, Regulation 67/93 and the Needle Safety regulation (474/07), and the role of the JHSC.
- Apply routine practices to every patient, including hand hygiene, safe injection practices and the choice of PPE by task.
- Compare safety-engineered sharps and needleless systems, and take part in choosing and evaluating devices with frontline staff.
- Handle sharps safely during and after use: never recap, activate safety features at once, dispose at the point of use and pass sharps through a neutral zone.
- Choose, place, use and change sharps containers correctly, and fix common container problems.
- Clean up blood and body fluid spills safely with the right kit, PPE and disinfectant at the correct strength and contact time.
- Explain the hepatitis B vaccine schedule, antibody testing, second series and declination, and help colleagues make an informed choice.
- Give correct first aid after an exposure, report it at once and describe the assessment of the exposure and the source patient.
- Describe post-exposure follow-up for each virus, the precautions while waiting, and how exposures are reported to the WSIB, the JHSC and the Ministry of Labour.
- Work safely with sharps in clients' homes, long-term care, clinics and public places, including picking up discarded needles.
- Write and review an exposure control plan for a small clinic, covering exposure determination, controls, vaccination, post-exposure care, training, records and annual review.
Course content
12 lessons · 4 h 27 min total · final exam
- 1 Bloodborne pathogens and how they spread 23 min · quiz
- 2 Laws and regulations for sharps and blood exposure 22 min · quiz
- 3 Routine and standard precautions 22 min · quiz
- 4 Safety-engineered sharps devices 22 min · quiz
- 5 Safe handling and disposal of sharps 22 min · quiz
- 6 Sharps containers 22 min · quiz
- 7 Blood and body fluid spills 21 min · quiz
- 8 Hepatitis B vaccination 21 min · quiz
- 9 After an exposure: first steps 21 min · quiz
- 10 Post-exposure follow-up and reporting 25 min · quiz
- 11 Sharps outside the hospital 23 min · quiz
- 12 Capstone: an exposure control plan 23 min · quiz
- E Final exam 20 questions
Requirements
Recommended background. You can start any course at any time.
Description
Preventing needlestick injuries and exposure to blood and body fluids for anyone who works near sharps or blood: hepatitis B, hepatitis C and HIV and how they are transmitted, provincial needle safety regulations requiring safety-engineered devices, routine practices and additional precautions, safe handling and disposal of sharps, sharps containers, spills of blood and body fluids, hepatitis B vaccination, what to do after an exposure and post-exposure prophylaxis, reporting and follow-up, and an exposure control plan for a clinic.