Deck 22: Cross-Contamination Between Work and Home

Question 1

How should food taken into the office be handled?

A)If using a microwave to reheat lunches, heat to 165° F, and carefully follow any heating instructions on prepackaged items.
B)Be sure to add fresh food to a platter that already has food on it.
C)Use the same cutting board for produce, meats, poultry, and boiled eggs to keep any microbes from contaminating other surfaces.
D)If the food is frozen, thaw it at room temperature to speed up the process.

Answer 1

If using a microwave to reheat lunches, heat to 165° F, and carefully follow any heating instructions on prepackaged items.

Question 2

A reasonable solution to deal with contaminated work shoes is to:

A)wash the shoes at the end of each day.
B)disinfect the shoes at the end of each day.
C)leave your work shoes at work.
D)sterilize the shoes at the end of each day.

Answer 2

leave your work shoes at work.

Question 3

The CDC recommends that health care workers with which of the following diseases be restricted from patient contact?

A)Hepatitis A or periodontal disease
B)Shingles or pediculosis
C)Rubella or dental caries
D)Chickenpox or periapical infection

Answer 3

Shingles or pediculosis

Question 4

What shouldn't be done if you have a respiratory infection (e.g., the common cold) to reduce the spread of disease agents?

A)Touch only drawer knobs and door pulls in the kitchen and not the silverware.
B)Don't share hand or bath towels with others in the family.
C)Don't use bar soaps.
D)Cover your mouth and nose when sneezing.

Question 5

Things at the office that will be taken home (e.g., purses, containers, packages, non-protective outer clothing, boots, garment bags) should not be handled with contaminated hands and should be:

A)steam sterilized before taking home.
B)soaked in a disinfectant for 15 minutes before taking home.
C)stored in a nonclinical area while at work.
D)ultrasonically cleaned before taking home.

Question 6

What happens to unopened good quality hamburger stored in the refrigerator?

A)Nothing.
B)It will eventually spoil.
C)It simply ages and tastes better when cooked.
D)All the contaminating microbes will die.

Question 7

What is protective clothing?

A)It's whatever you wear to work.
B)It's whatever you wear home after work.
C)It's what you put on at work to cover whatever your wear in to work.
D)It's what you put on when you are leaving the office during the daytime (e.g., for lunch).

Question 8

Things taken to work (e.g., purses, gifts, lunch containers, packages, non-protective outer clothing, boots, and garment bags) should be properly managed by:

A)wiping off or spraying the items with a disinfectant immediately after entering the office.
B)rubbing an alcohol hand rub over the items to kill any microbes.
C)informing the patients of these contaminated items not regularly present in the office.
D)keeping the items out of clinical areas.

Question 9

Keep meat, poultry, seafood, and eggs and their juices away from ready-to-eat foods during preparation, when in the grocery bags, and when in the refrigerator.

Question 10

Do not prepare your lunch the night before taking it into the office.

Question 11

How should protective clothing be managed?

A)It should be taken home in a plastic bag and laundered in hot soapy water.
B)It can be worn home and laundered separately from other items in hot soapy water.
C)It should be placed in a red biohazard bag and taken to the local laundromat for washing.
D)It needs to be laundered in the office or sent out to a laundry service.

Question 12

Which of the following will help reduce the spread of microbes?

A)Be sure to completely fill partially empty liquid soap containers to minimize the amount of air in the container.
B)Don't set your purse down in clinical areas at work or in the kitchen at home.
C)Rinse off bar soaps after each use at work and at home.
D)When cleaning sinks and toilet bowls start with the bottom surfaces and work your way up to the top surfaces.

Question 13

What disease was spread to 51 people by the household cook Mary Mallon?

A)Hepatitis B
B)Influenza
C)Measles
D)Typhoid

Question 14

A dental assistant with conjunctivitis should be restricted from patient contact.

Question 15

Once foods have been cooked to the proper temperature, they can be left out at room temperature uncovered for up to 5 hours.

Question 16

What is the maximum time perishable food should be allowed to sit out at room temperatures below 90° F?

A)2 hours
B)3 hours
C)4 hours
D)5 hours

Question 17

Most raw foods are seldom contaminated with microbes.

Question 18

Which of the following has the highest minimum cooking temperature?

A)Beef steaks
B)Fresh ham
C)Poultry
D)Ground beef

Question 19

If you use an alcohol hand rub throughout the day, what should you do at the end of the day?

A)Use a final alcohol hand rub to be sure microbes on the hands are not taken home.
B)Take the alcohol hand-rub product home to continue good hand hygiene.
C)Wash your hands with soap and water, rinse, and dry.
D)Spray your hands with the surface disinfectant used in the office and rinse them well.

Question 20

Which of the following raw foods can be safely stored in a refrigerator for the longest time?

A)Hot dogs
B)Luncheon meats
C)Ground meats
D)Sausage

Question 21

When serving food at an office party, do not add fresh food to a platter that already had food in it.