Practice Question
The nurse finishes administering an intramuscular injection when a needle punctures the nurse's gloved finger. What should the nurse prioritize?
Answer Choices:
Correct Answer:
Wash hands with soap and warm water.
Rationale:
🟩 Washing the affected area immediately is the first and most urgent action after a needlestick injury.
🟩 Cleansing reduces surface contamination, lowering initial exposure risk to bloodborne pathogens.
🟩 This action aligns with OSHA and CDC exposure-control guidelines, which emphasize immediate wound cleaning.
🟩 It is the only action that directly addresses biological contamination at the moment it occurs.
🟩 All other steps in the protocol rely on completing this initial first-aid step, making it the top priority.
Apply a bandage and monitor the puncture site.
🟩 While bandaging is appropriate after washing, doing so first traps contaminants inside.
🟩 Monitoring without cleansing does nothing to remove pathogenic material on the skin.
🟩 This option overlooks the critical need for immediate decontamination.
🟩 Covering the wound prematurely increases the risk of local infection.
🟩 This is a secondary step, not the priority action.
Ask the client if they have any known infections.
🟩 Asking about infection status is part of post-exposure assessment, but it is not immediate first aid.
🟩 Relying on client self-report is inaccurate because many infections such as HIV or hepatitis B/C may be unknown to the client.
🟩 Delaying washing to ask questions increases the period of exposure risk.
🟩 The source patient's status is later verified through formal protocols, not informal questioning.
🟩 This step occurs after the nurse has addressed their own safety.
Complete an incident report.
🟩 Completing an incident report is required but occurs after first aid, not before.
🟩 Documentation does not reduce contamination or protect the nurse from bloodborne pathogens.
🟩 It is an administrative task that is part of the follow-up, not immediate care.
🟩 Delaying washing to document increases unnecessary exposure time.
🟩 Because it does not address immediate risk, it is not the priority.
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This question is from EXAMPLIFY RN W4 NR224.NR229 Exam 1 which contains 57 questions.
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Question Details
- Category: RN Nursing Exam(s)
- Subcategory: Examplify Exam(s)
- Domain: Fundamentals
- Answer Choices: 4