Healthcare

The Importance of Personal Protective Equipment to Graduates of Healthcare Courses

May 26, 2020

If you want maximum protection, you’ll need to put on some PPE. To put it broadly, personal protective equipment (PPE) is any type of equipment that can protect you from infection, workplace hazards, or other risks to your health. This can include N95 or medical masks, face shields, gloves, or eye goggles. 

The use of PPE has become especially important during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, since it serves as a barrier between a healthcare worker and any individuals potentially transmitting the virus. This is in addition to other hygienic measures such as regular hand washing and physical distancing.

Protecting yourself in these situations is imperative, and there are multiple upsides to wearing the necessary equipment to do so. Here’s why healthcare students should understand the importance of PPE while on the job.

PPE Can Keep You Safe and Protected On Many Parts of Your Body

The use of personal protective equipment does not simply fall within the healthcare sector. It can be incredibly important across a number of industries, including construction, welding, or manufacturing. 

There are examples of PPE for various body parts, such as your head (hard hats or helmets), eyes (goggles or face shields), ears (to protect from industrial noise, if you work in construction), feet (work boots, rubber boots or other protective footwear), and hands (sterile or latex gloves). 

Those who have done their healthcare training may also find themselves wearing gowns, as well as surgical masks or N95 respirator masks. Since you may come into contact with fluids, blood, or anything carrying bacteria, wearing them is a must if you want to protect yourself. Also, remember that you will need to dispose of many of these items after a single use.

PPE is necessary for various industries, such as construction and manufacturing

Healthcare School Students Should Know the Risks of Not Wearing PPE

Not only can wearing proper PPE help protect you from harm or illness, it can also protect you from any longer-term conditions that could result from exposure to certain elements or chemicals. 

For example, not wearing protective eyewear such as goggles can cause some people to develop eye injuries or conditions, or even lose a portion of their eyesight entirely. The more adequate your PPE is, the more protected you’ll be from infection or any other preventable conditions.

Additionally, you should also follow proper procedures to ensure PPE is effective. For instance, a healthcare professional using gloves must wash their hands thoroughly before and after use — particularly if they will be in contact with bodily fluids — and never use the same pair for different clients.

PPE Can Help Protect You Against Infection During a Pandemic

Using PPE during the COVID-19 pandemic can protect you from infection, such as any contact with respiratory droplets, or contact with any person who may be carrying the virus asymptomatically. This can significantly reduce the transmission of, and exposure to, the novel coronavirus. 

Wearing PPE can protect against infection from COVID-19

As a result of the unprecedented circumstances we’re currently living through due to COVID-19, the use of PPE has become even more important than ever before for healthcare school graduates. 

In fact, Medix has donated various types of PPE such as masks, gloves, and lab testing equipment to frontline workers. With many of Medix College’s alumni, faculty, staff and students becoming true heroes during these times by working on the front lines, this was the least we could do to support them. 

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