While suctioning a patient, an EMT gets a splash of blood-tinged secretions into her unprotected eye. Under a compliant exposure control plan, she should:
- ANotify the on-duty officer first and wait for direction before flushing
- BFinish the shift and report it later only if she develops symptoms in the weeks that follow
- CAsk the receiving nurse whether the patient carries a bloodborne infection
- DFlush the eye with water at once, then report the exposure through her serviceCorrect
Why: The bloodborne pathogens standard requires the employer to ensure that mucous membranes are flushed with water immediately or as soon as feasible after contact, and to make a confidential post-exposure medical evaluation available, so the sequence is flush first and report immediately afterwards. Reporting first and waiting for direction is the genuinely tempting order, because reporting feels like the compliance step, and it is wrong only on timing: the flush costs seconds, needs no permission, and every minute of delay leaves material on the conjunctiva. Waiting until the end of the shift, or until symptoms appear weeks later, forfeits both post-exposure prophylaxis, whose value depends on starting quickly, and the documentation that supports any later claim. The source patient's status is established through the exposure process, not by a crew member asking a nurse at the bedside.29 CFR 1910.1030