NCLEX-RN, Medical exams, 10–16%

Safety and Infection Prevention and Control

Protecting clients and health care personnel from harm: preventing errors and injuries, using restraints safely, preparing for emergencies, and applying standard and transmission-based precautions.

Position: 2 of 8 client needs categories
Published weighting: 10–16% in the official framework
Topics covered: 4 topics in this guide

What is covered

Topics inside this client needs category.

These topics describe the scope students most often review for this part of NCLEX-RN. Treat them as a study checklist rather than an exhaustive list of what a single exam form can sample.

Standard and transmission-based precautions: Contact, droplet, and airborne precautions, the organisms behind each, and the personal protective equipment each requires.
Injury and fall prevention: Fall risk assessment, safe client handling, and alternatives to restraints.
Error prevention and reporting: Client identification, the rights of medication administration, and incident reports.
Emergency response and disaster planning: Triage categories, fire safety, and hazardous material handling.

Study tips

How to practice Safety and Infection.

Section-specific guidance that follows from how this material is usually tested.

Make one table of precautions by organism and review it until the matching is automatic.
For restraint questions, look first for the least restrictive option that keeps the client safe.
Rehearse the fire response in order: rescue, alarm, contain, extinguish.

Where this fits

Safety and Infection Prevention and Control is 2 of 8 client needs categories in the NCLEX-RN guide, and it carries a published weighting of 10–16% in the official framework. Use the full guide to balance it against everything else you have to review.

Back to the NCLEX-RN guide Official exam information

Sample Safety and Infection questions

Practice questions, not yet expert-reviewed

Original practice questions written to the published framework for this section. No expert has reviewed them, and they are not taken from any official exam. Try each one before you open the answer.

Question 1Foundational
Which transmission-based precautions does a client with suspected pulmonary tuberculosis need?
1. ADroplet precautions
2. BContact precautions
3. CStandard precautions only
4. DAirborne precautions
Show answer
Answer: D. Airborne precautions
Tuberculosis spreads by small airborne particles, so the client needs an airborne infection isolation room with negative pressure, and staff wear a fitted N95 respirator or higher.
Key insight: Tuberculosis, measles, and chickenpox need airborne precautions.
Question 2Foundational
What is the first action the nurse should take on discovering a fire in a client's room?
1. AClose the doors to contain the fire
2. BUse a fire extinguisher on the flames
3. CRescue anyone in immediate danger
4. DActivate the fire alarm
Show answer
Answer: C. Rescue anyone in immediate danger
The order is rescue, alarm, contain, extinguish. Moving clients in immediate danger comes first, then sounding the alarm, closing doors, and fighting the fire if it is small.
Key insight: Fire response follows RACE: rescue, alarm, contain, extinguish.
Question 3Intermediate
A client with dementia keeps trying to climb out of bed. Which intervention should the nurse try first?
1. AAsk the provider for a sedative
2. BPlace the bed in its lowest position and check on the client often
3. CApply wrist restraints
4. DRaise all four side rails
Show answer
Answer: B. Place the bed in its lowest position and check on the client often
Restraints, four raised side rails, and sedation are restrictive measures used only after less restrictive alternatives fail. A low bed with frequent checks, toileting, and reorientation are the first steps.
Key insight: Try the least restrictive measure before restraints.
Question 4Intermediate
Which personal protective equipment should the nurse wear to enter the room of a client on contact precautions for Clostridioides difficile?
1. AA gown and gloves
2. BA surgical mask only
3. CAn N95 respirator and gloves
4. DGloves only
Show answer
Answer: A. A gown and gloves
Contact precautions require a gown and gloves on entering the room. Masks are for droplet precautions and N95 respirators for airborne precautions. Hands are washed with soap and water afterward because alcohol does not kill the spores.
Key insight: Contact precautions mean a gown and gloves.
Question 5Advanced
In a mass-casualty triage system, which category does a victim with an open femur fracture and stable vital signs belong to?
1. AImmediate (red)
2. BMinor (green)
3. CExpectant (black)
4. DDelayed (yellow)
Show answer
Answer: D. Delayed (yellow)
A serious injury that needs treatment but is not immediately life-threatening, with stable vital signs, is delayed (yellow). Immediate (red) is for life-threatening problems that can be treated quickly, such as an obstructed airway.
Key insight: Serious but stable injuries are triaged as delayed.

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Safety and Infection Prevention and Control