A patient who is on droplet precautions requires daily blood glucose monitoring. Besides gloves, which piece of personal protective equipment must the phlebotomist wear when drawing the sample?

Choice A Reason:
When a patient is under "Contact Precautions," it is recommended that healthcare workers don a gown upon entering the patient's room. This is to prevent the spread of infection through contact with the patient or their environment. The gown should be removed before leaving the room to avoid contaminating other areas.

Choice B Reason:
While a face shield may be necessary for certain procedures, it is not specifically required for "Contact Precautions." The primary concern with contact precautions is preventing the transmission of infections through touch, not through droplets, which is what a face shield would protect against.

Choice C Reason:
Donning a mask is not a standard requirement for "Contact Precautions" unless there is a risk of droplet transmission. In this scenario, the precautions are specifically for contact, and therefore, a mask alone would not be sufficient.

Choice D Reason:
Gloves should be donned before any potential contact with the patient or their immediate environment, not just after cleaning and evaluating the venipuncture site. Gloves are a critical component of PPE when dealing with patients under "Contact Precautions."

Choice A reason:
The date of specimen collection is crucial for a laboratory report as it provides the context for the test results. It helps in assessing the timeliness and relevance of the results, especially when monitoring conditions that can change rapidly over time.

Choice B reason:
While the phlebotomist's initials may be recorded as part of the internal process for tracking specimen collection, they are not typically included in the patient's laboratory report. The focus of the report is on the patient and the test results, rather than on the personnel who collected the sample.

Choice C reason:
Patient diagnosis is not usually included in a laboratory report because the purpose of the report is to provide test results that may inform a diagnosis. The diagnosis is made by the healthcare provider based on the test results, along with other clinical information.

Choice D reason:
Values of previous tests may be referenced in a patient's medical record but are not a required element on a laboratory report. Each report typically presents the results of the current tests only. Comparisons to previous values, if needed, are made by the healthcare provider.