Infection Prevention and Control

For CNAs, home health aides, nurses and EVS staff: break the chain of infection with hand hygiene, PPE, precautions and cleaning, and respond and report correctly.

For: Healthcare workers, certified nursing assistants (CNAs), home health aides, nurses and environmental services (EVS) staff in nursing homes, hospitals, assisted living and home care

  • 2 contact hours
  • 8 modules
  • 9 interactives
  • 5 job aids
  • Updated October 7, 2026

What you will be able to do

  • Explain the six links of the chain of infection and identify which standard precautions break each link, within your role and scope of practice.
  • Perform hand hygiene at the CDC-recommended moments and choose correctly between alcohol-based hand sanitizer and soap and water.
  • Select, put on and remove PPE in the correct sequence, and apply contact, droplet, airborne and Enhanced Barrier Precautions to the care task in front of you.
  • Clean and disinfect surfaces and shared equipment using EPA-registered products at their labeled contact times, and handle linen, sharps and injection equipment safely.
  • Describe your rights and your employer's duties under OSHA's Bloodborne Pathogens Standard, respond correctly to an exposure incident, and apply staff health practices such as vaccination and staying home when sick.
  • Recognize and report changes in condition, MDRO risks and possible outbreaks using SBAR and factual documentation, escalate to the nurse or 911 when needed, and identify the state rules you must check.

Learn the infection prevention practices that protect the people you care for and you: the chain of infection, hand hygiene, choosing and removing personal protective equipment (PPE), contact, droplet, airborne and Enhanced Barrier Precautions, cleaning and disinfection with the right contact time, safe sharps handling, and what to do in the first minutes after a needlestick or splash. You will practice with a precautions decision tool, two spot-the-error logs, a branching needlestick scenario and an SBAR change-in-condition builder.

Built for frontline care teams: certified nursing assistants, home health aides, patient care technicians, nurses and environmental services staff. Each module follows a different US workplace, from a Toledo nursing home to a home health visit in Albuquerque, and every module makes clear what is in an aide's scope and when to escalate to the nurse, physician or 911.

The content is tied to the rules surveyors and inspectors actually use: CMS infection control requirements for nursing homes (42 CFR 483.80, F880), CMS Enhanced Barrier Precautions guidance, CDC's Core Infection Prevention and Control Practices and Isolation Precautions guideline, and OSHA's Bloodborne Pathogens Standard (29 CFR 1910.1030). It is honest about its limits: it is awareness training that your employer must pair with site-specific training and hands-on skills checks. Five practical job aids, including a shift checklist, an SBAR template and an in-service sign-off record, help you put it to work.

What you’ll be able to do Monday morning

  1. Clean your hands entering and leaving every care space and immediately after taking off gloves, switching to soap and water for C. diff or norovirus.
  2. Read every precautions sign before entering, and wear a gown and gloves for high-contact care of residents on Enhanced Barrier Precautions.
  3. Remove PPE in the trained order without touching the front of your mask or gown.
  4. Disinfect shared equipment between people and keep surfaces wet for the label's full contact time.
  5. Know exactly who to call and where to go in the first minutes after a needlestick or splash.
  6. Report changes and possible clusters to the nurse the same shift using a clear SBAR report.

Curriculum

8 modules · 27 lessons · about 2 contact hours

01How do infections spread in care settings, and where can you break the chain?Free preview15 min
  1. What is the chain of infection?
  2. Why do germs spread so easily in care settings?
  3. Who is responsible for infection prevention, and what is your role?
  • Sort activity: Which link does it break?

Diagram · In practice checklist · 2-question knowledge check

02When, how and with what should you clean your hands?14 min
  1. When must you clean your hands?
  2. Sanitizer or soap and water: which should you use?
  3. How do you make hand hygiene happen on a busy shift?
  4. What about gloves, nails, jewelry and skin care?
  • Spot the issue: Spot the missed moments: hand hygiene observation log
  • Self-assessment: How strong are my infection prevention habits?

Diagram · In practice checklist · 2-question knowledge check

03What are standard precautions, and how do you choose, put on and take off PPE?15 min
  1. What are standard precautions?
  2. In what order do you put PPE on and take it off?
  3. What are respiratory hygiene and cough etiquette?
  • Matching activity: Match the task to the PPE

Diagram · In practice checklist · 2-question knowledge check

04When do contact, droplet, airborne and Enhanced Barrier Precautions apply?15 min
  1. What are transmission-based precautions?
  2. What are Enhanced Barrier Precautions (EBP)?
  3. How do you work safely in a precautions room?
  4. What are the most common precautions mistakes?
  • Decision tree: Which precautions and PPE apply?

Diagram · In practice checklist · 2-question knowledge check

05How do you clean, disinfect, handle linen and manage sharps safely?15 min
  1. What is the difference between cleaning and disinfecting?
  2. What should you clean, how often, and in what order?
  3. What are safe injection practices, and how do you handle sharps?
  • Spot the issue: Spot the errors: discharge cleaning log

Diagram · In practice checklist · 2-question knowledge check

06What does OSHA's Bloodborne Pathogens Standard require, and what do you do after an exposure?16 min
  1. Who does the Bloodborne Pathogens Standard protect?
  2. What counts as an exposure incident?
  3. What do you do in the first minutes and hours?
  • Branching scenario: The pen needle on the tray table

Diagram · In practice checklist · 2-question knowledge check

07How do you spot MDRO risks and possible outbreaks, and report them with SBAR?15 min
  1. What are MDROs, and what is antibiotic stewardship?
  2. How do you recognize a possible outbreak?
  3. How do you report a change so it is heard? Use SBAR
  • SBAR builder: Build an SBAR report: possible infection

Diagram · In practice checklist · 2-question knowledge check

08How do staff health, vaccination and state rules fit into infection prevention?13 min
  1. Should you work when you are sick?
  2. Why does staff vaccination matter?
  3. How do infection control training rules differ by state?
  4. Putting it all together: what does a protected shift look like?
  • State rules selector: Infection control rules in your state

In practice checklist · 2-question knowledge check

Final assessment: 23 questions, 80% to pass, then your certificate

Try it now, no account needed

The pen needle on the tray table

A branching scenario from this course. Your choices are not saved.

Free sample activity

The pen needle on the tray table

You are Malik Whitfield, a CNA working nights at a 60-bed nursing home in Omaha, Nebraska. At 1:40 a.m., while clearing a resident's over-bed table, you pick up a napkin and a used insulin pen needle under it pierces your glove and finger. A small drop of blood appears.

Inside the course

Practice activities

  • Sort activity1
  • Spot the issue2
  • Self-assessment1
  • Matching activity1
  • Decision tree1
  • Branching scenario1
  • SBAR builder1
  • State rules selector1

Job aids you keep

  • Infection Prevention Care Checklist (Every Shift)Checklist
  • SBAR and Early-Warning Change-in-Condition TemplateTemplate
  • Bloodborne Exposure Pocket CardPocket card
  • Infection Prevention Reflection WorksheetWorksheet
  • Infection Prevention In-Service Sign-Off RecordLog

Credit and approval status

Certificate of completion

This course awards a certificate of completion for 2 contact hours of instruction. It has not been approved or accredited by the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC), any state board of nursing, the New York State Education Department (NYSED), the New York State Department of Health, any state health department or any other licensing board or accreditor. It is not an approved New York infection control course and cannot satisfy New York's infection control coursework requirement. It is awareness training: OSHA requires employers to add site-specific bloodborne pathogens training with an opportunity for live questions and answers, and facilities must verify hands-on skills such as PPE use in person. Check with your board, employer or state agency whether this course can count toward your training or in-service records.

Pathways we are pursuing or may pursue include accreditation for nursing continuing professional development through ANCC, recognition as nurse aide in-service content where a state allows it, and, optionally, approval as a New York infection control coursework provider. No approval exists today; we will show any approval on this page only after it is granted.

Our full approvals list

State notes

The federal rules in this course (42 CFR 483.80 for nursing homes, CMS Enhanced Barrier Precautions guidance, CDC guidelines and OSHA's 29 CFR 1910.1030) apply nationwide, but states add requirements that can change what you must do and which training counts.

  • New York: Education Law Section 6505-b requires registered nurses, licensed practical nurses, dentists, dental hygienists, optometrists, podiatrists and (from December 22, 2025) athletic trainers to complete infection control and barrier precautions coursework at initial licensure and every four years; physicians, physician assistants and specialist assistants follow Public Health Law Section 239. Coursework must come from a NYSED- or Department of Health-approved provider and cover seven core elements set by the state. This course is not approved in New York.
  • OSHA State Plans: 29 states and territories run State Plans approved by OSHA that enforce their own bloodborne pathogens rules, which must be at least as effective as federal OSHA's and may add requirements. Some cover only public employers.
  • Nurse aide in-service: federal rules set annual in-service training for nursing home nurse aides; some states add hours or required topics.
  • Reportable diseases and outbreaks: each state health department sets which diseases and outbreaks facilities must report, how and how fast.
  • Scope of practice: what aides, medication aides and LPNs may do (for example, fingersticks or medication administration) is set by state law and regulation.
  • Masking and vaccination: some states and localities set seasonal masking or vaccination requirements for healthcare workers.

What to check locally: your licensing board's infection control or continuing education rules, your state health department's nurse aide and reporting rules, whether your state runs an OSHA State Plan, and your employer's infection prevention policies.

Questions about this course

Does this course give me CE or meet my state requirement?

You receive a certificate of completion for 2 contact hours of instruction. The course is not approved or accredited by ANCC, a state board, NYSED or any other accreditor, and it is not an approved New York infection control course. Check with your board, employer or state agency whether the certificate can count toward your continuing education or in-service records.

Does it count as OSHA bloodborne pathogens training?

It covers the general content of OSHA's Bloodborne Pathogens Standard, but OSHA requires annual training that includes an opportunity for interactive questions and answers with a knowledgeable trainer and information about your own workplace's exposure control plan. Your employer must add that. The in-service sign-off record in this course helps document the combined training.

Who is this course for?

Certified nursing assistants, home health aides, patient care technicians, nurses, environmental services staff and other healthcare workers in nursing homes, hospitals, assisted living and home care. It is written for staff at a foundational level and clearly marks what is in an aide's scope and when to escalate to a nurse.

Does it cover Enhanced Barrier Precautions?

Yes. Module 4 explains which nursing home residents CMS expects to be on Enhanced Barrier Precautions, which high-contact care tasks require a gown and gloves, and why residents on EBP are not restricted to their rooms. It also compares EBP with contact, droplet and airborne precautions, with a decision tool to practice.

How long does it take?

About 2 hours: eight modules of 13 to 16 minutes each, interactive exercises, short knowledge checks and a final assessment of 23 questions drawn from a larger bank. You need 80% to pass, and you can stop and resume at any time.

Will I get a certificate, and what should I keep?

Yes. When you pass, you can download a certificate of completion showing the course title, contact hours and completion date. Keep it with the in-service sign-off record and reflection worksheet so your employer or surveyor can see the online and site-specific parts of your training together.

This course is general education and infection prevention awareness training from CE Courses Hub. It is not legal, medical or professional advice and does not replace your employer's infection prevention policies and exposure control plan, site-specific training and skills checks, your licensing board's rules, or advice from a qualified professional. Completing it earns a certificate of completion for the stated contact hours; it is not approved or accredited by any licensing board, state agency or accreditor unless an approval is shown on the course page. Check with your board, employer or state agency whether this course meets your specific requirement.