How do nurses protect patients from infectious diseases?

Hand hygiene

Cleaning hands before and after every patient contact is the single most important step in preventing healthcare-associated infections. Alcohol-based rub is the usual method, with soap and water when hands are visibly soiled and after contact with patients who have Clostridioides difficile, since alcohol does not kill its spores.

Standard and transmission-based precautions

Standard precautions apply to every patient: gloves, gowns, masks and eye protection as the task requires, and safe handling of sharps. Contact precautions add gown and gloves for infections spread by touch. Droplet precautions add a surgical mask for infections such as influenza. Airborne precautions add an N95 respirator and a negative-pressure room for tuberculosis, measles and similar diseases.

Lines, catheters and wounds

Many hospital infections come from devices: central lines, urinary catheters and ventilators. Nurses follow checklists for inserting and maintaining them, check daily whether each is still needed and use sterile technique for dressing changes. The CDC’s prevalence surveys have found about 1 in 31 hospital patients with a healthcare-associated infection on any given day, which is why these routines are audited.

Vaccination and screening

Nurses give vaccines and teach patients about them, and are expected to be vaccinated themselves: influenza and hepatitis B are standard in hospitals. Employee health programs often run by occupational health nurses manage screening and exposure follow-up.

Specialist roles

Infection preventionists are nurses and other professionals who track infection rates, investigate outbreaks and train staff. Certification in infection prevention is offered by the Certification Board of Infection Control and Epidemiology. Public health nurses do similar work at community level.

Your own protection

See is it dangerous to care for patients with HIV/AIDS for how the same precautions protect nurses. Median RN pay was $97,550 in May 2025.

Pay and projections: Bureau of Labor Statistics. NCLEX figures: NCSBN. Enrollment: AACN. Sources and years are ondata sources.