Donning & Removing Personal Protective Equipment (Gloves) OPEN METHOD

Definition: Protective equipment worn during many procedure to maintain the sterility of equipment & to protect from contact w/ blood & body fluids

Purpose:
- To enable the nurse to handle or touch sterile objects freely and contaminating them.
- To prevent transmission of potentially infective organisms from the nurses hands to clients at high risk for infection
Equipment:
- Packages of sterile gloves

Procedure:
1. Prior to performing the procedure introduce self & verify the clients identity using agency protocol. Explain to the client what you are going to do & why it is necessary & how he/she can cooperate. Discuss how the results will be used in planning further care or treatments.
2. Observe appropriate infection control procedures.
3. Provide for client privacy
4. Open the packages of sterile gloves
- Place the package of gloves on a clean dry surface – Any moisture on the surface could contaminate the gloves

- Some gloves are packed in an inner as well as outer package. Open the outer packages without contaminating the gloves or the inner package.

- Remove the inner package from the outer package.

- Open the inner package according to the manufacturer’s directions. Some manufacturer’s provide a numbered sequence for opening the flaps & folded tabs to grasp for opening the flaps. If no tabs are provided, pluck the flap so that the fingers do not touch the inner surfaces – The inner surfaces which are next to the sterile gloves will remain sterile.

5. Put the first glove on the dominant hand.
- If the gloves are packaged so that they lie side by side, grasp the gloves for the dominant hand. Touch only the inside of the cuff – The hands are not sterile. By touching only the inside of the glove, the nurse avoids contaminating the outside.

- If the gloves are packaged one on top of the other, grasp the cuff of the top glove as above, using the opposite hand.

- Insert the dominant hand into the glove & pull the glove on. Keep the thumb of the inserted hand against the palm of the hand during the insertion. – If the thumb is kept against the palm, it is likely to contaminate the outside of the glove.

- Leave the cuff in place once the unsterile hand releases the glove. – Attempting to further unfold the cuff is likely to contaminate the glove.

6. Put the second glove on the non-dominant hand.
- Pick up the other glove w/ the sterile gloved hand inserting the gloved fingers under the cuff & holding thumb close to the gloved palm. – This helps prevent accidental contamination of the glove by bare hand.

- Pull on the second glove carefully. Hold the thumb of the gloved first hand as far as possible from the palm. –In this position, the thumb is less likely to touch the arm & become contaminated.

- Adjust each glove so that it fits smoothly & carefully pull the cuffs up by sliding the fingers under the cuffs.

Removing:
1. Remove the first glove by grasping it on its palmar surface taking care to touch only glove to glove. – This keeps the soiled parts of the used gloves from touching the skin of the wrist or hand.

- Pull the first glove completely off by inverting or rolling the glove inside out.

- Continue to hold the inverted removed glove by the fingers of the remaining gloved hand. Place the first two fingers of the bare hand inside the cuff of the second glove. – Touching the outside of the second soiled glove with the bare hand is avoided.


- Pull the second glove off to the fingers by turning it inside out. This pulls the first glove inside the second glove. – The soiled part of the glove is folded to the inside to reduce the chance of transferring any microorganisms by direct contact.

- Using the bare hand, continue to remove the gloves which are now inside out & dispose them in the garbage container.

2. Perform proper hand hygiene.