Which item is part of universal precautions in CNA practice?

• A. Washing hands
• B. Gloves
• C. Respect
• D. Knock

Answer: (B)

The main idea here is protection from infection through barrier precautions. Gloves provide a protective barrier between your hands and blood, body fluids, mucous membranes, or contaminated surfaces. This helps prevent germs from moving between you and the resident during care tasks, reducing the risk of transmission. They’re worn whenever exposure to fluids or contaminated materials is possible and are changed between tasks and residents to avoid cross-contamination. Hand washing is essential and should be done before donning gloves and after removing them, but the tangible item that directly fulfills the protective barrier role in universal precautions among these options is gloves. The other choices aren’t barrier protections used in this context.