Workplace Safety
Respiratory Protection for Healthcare Workers
Course description
Healthcare workers like you wear respirators to protect against the inhalation hazards of airborne contaminants from working with and around patients with infectious diseases and/or working with hazardous chemicals, including certain medications, gases, and aerosols.
But just wearing a respirator is not enough. You need to know how to properly fit, use, inspect, and maintain your respirator to fully protect yourself from these hazards. If you don’t, diseases like coronavirus; influenza; tuberculosis, or TB; and measles can spread and infect you and your coworkers. And working with hazardous chemicals, such as high-level disinfectants, anesthetic gases, and nitrous oxide, can cause cancer, lung impairment, lung diseases, or even death.
Course Duration: 17 min
Learning objectives:
At the completion of this course, the participant will be able to:- Recognize respiratory hazards
- Describe how a respirator operates
- Identify and use appropriate respiratory protection
- Get a good, safe fit when using a respirator
- Properly inspect, maintain, and store respirators