Answer :
Final answer:
The correct order generally involves hand hygiene, followed by gown, mask, goggles, and gloves. Handwashing is critical in healthcare settings to prevent contamination and is especially rigorous before surgical procedures.
Explanation:
When donning garb and performing hand hygiene, there is a specific order that should be followed to maintain a sterile environment and reduce the risk of contamination. The correct sequence, which can vary depending on the institution's protocols, generally includes starting with thorough hand washing, followed by donning a gown, a mask, goggles, and finally gloves. It's important to emphasize that handwashing is a critical step for healthcare workers, to prevent the transmission of pathogens before glove use and after glove removal. Surgical hand scrubs require even more rigor than routine hand hygiene practices. The answer to the student's question, based on proper hand hygiene practice among healthcare workers, would be to choose the option that starts with hand hygiene, which isn't listed unambiguously among the given choices. In an extensive procedure like surgical scrubbing, the hands and forearms must be cleaned vigorously, starting from the fingertips and moving up beyond the elbows, as this practice significantly reduces the microbial flora on the skin's surface.
