Prevention of infection for both surgical patients and healthcare workers is a primary objective for perioperative personnel; improvements in infection control practices can reduce the incidence of healthcare-associated infections and exposure to communicable disease. The appropriate selection and use of gloves in the perioperative practice environment is a key infection control practice. Therefore, nurses and other perioperative personnel should be knowledgeable about the key considerations in selecting gloves that are appropriate for the various tasks they perform in their patient care activities on a daily basis.
This continuing education activity will provide a brief historical review of the evolution of the use of gloves as a protective barrier and several important issues related to gloving. The various types of materials used to manufacture gloves will be presented. The protective qualities of examination and surgical gloves currently used in the clinical practice settings will be explored, including a review of glove barrier properties, strength, durability, and other very important characteristics.
The current recommendations by regulatory agencies and professional associations for glove manufacturing and glove usage also will be outlined. Specific criteria for the selection and use of examination and surgical gloves will be presented. Finally, selected case studies will provide the participant with the opportunity to synthesize the information and evaluate workplace scenarios with regard to appropriate glove selection and use.