North Carolina Medication Aide (Med Tech) Practice Exam

What personal protective equipment should be worn when applying topical medication?

1. Face mask

2. Goggles

3. Gloves

4. Apron

The correct answer is: Gloves

When applying topical medication, wearing gloves is essential to ensure both the safety of the patient and the healthcare provider. Gloves serve as a barrier to protect the skin from direct contact with the medication, which can be important for both safety and hygiene reasons. This helps to minimize the risk of contamination and prevents the absorption of potentially harmful substances through the skin. Furthermore, gloves aid in the prevention of cross-contamination, particularly in scenarios where the healthcare provider is dealing with multiple patients or handling different medications, ensuring that pathogens or irritants are not transmitted between them. While other types of personal protective equipment like face masks, goggles, and aprons have their appropriate contexts and uses, they are not primary in the direct application of topical medications. Masks and goggles are generally used for aerosol-generating procedures or when there’s a risk of splashes, while aprons provide additional protection from spills or contamination of clothing during more involved procedures. In the case of applying topical medications, gloves are the most critical item of protective equipment.