OSHA Bloodborne Pathogen Standards

Course overview

Course Description: This course is based upon material published in StatPearls and is available as an open-access article. Bloodborne pathogens are microorganisms in human blood that can cause life- threatening diseases and pose a severe risk to health care workers. Contact with blood or other fluids, including semen, vaginal secretions, saliva, and serous fluids - pleural, pericardial, peritoneal, and amniotic - clear or visibly contaminated with blood potential to transmit the pathogen and cause infectious disease. In the health care setting, bloodborne pathogens are often transmitted by percutaneous injury, accidental puncture, human bites, cuts, abrasions, or through mucocutaneous exposure to infected patients fluids. In the workplace, the major source of bloodborne infections is percutaneous injuries from needles or other sharps. In 1991, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) issued the Bloodborne Pathogens Standard in response to the global concern. This standard ensures the safety of health care workers at risk for occupational exposure. Employers must develop and implement an exposure control plan that identifies and lists all job classifications and tasks for those who reasonably anticipate contact with blood or other potentially infectious materials as part of their duties. This course on safety recommendations regarding bloodborne pathogens is designed for social workers, professional counselors, psychologists, nurses, and substance abuse counselors, who do clinical work. In addition, this course is appropriate for beginning, intermediate and advanced level practitioners who wish to develop their knowledge of safety recommendations regarding bloodborne pathogens. The course material includes a literature review of interventions. It may also be useful for licensed clinicians who require continuing clinical education courses for license renewal. The course is based on a journal article that includes research. It contains statistical analysis and data that some clinicians enjoy reading and others do not. A significant benefit of reading research-based articles for continuing education is they provide practitioners with the latest findings in their field. Authors: Denault, Gardner Learning Objectives: This course will provide the practitioner with detailed information regarding safety recommendations regarding bloodborne pathogens. Specifically, a professional will: Recognize characteristics and mechanisms of action of various bloodborne pathogens. Describe the traits of an effective exposure control plan and its implementation. Identify methods of reducing exposure to bloodborne pathogens. Citation: Denault, D., & Gardner, H. (2023). OSHA Bloodborne Pathogen Standards. In StatPearls. StatPearls Publishing.