The Importance of Proper Donning and Doffing Techniques

You can have the best, highest-grade PPE in the world, but it's all for nothing if you make one simple mistake taking it off.

It’s a hard truth of infection control: the moment of greatest risk is often at the end of a long shift or procedure, when your gear is contaminated and you’re tired. Mastering the art of putting on (donning) and taking off (doffing) your PPE isn't just about following a checklist; it's about building the muscle memory that keeps you, your colleagues, and your patients safe.

Gearing Up: The Clean Start

The whole process begins and ends with one thing: clean hands.

Before you touch a single piece of gear, perform thorough hand hygiene. Always. Then comes the gown, your primary barrier. Don't take shortcuts; ensure it’s tied securely at the neck and waist.

Next is your mask or respirator. This is your lung protection, and the seal is everything. It needs to be snug against your face, with no gaps. Do a quick fit check—can you feel air leaking from the sides when you exhale? If so, adjust it until it’s right. After that comes your eye protection, followed by your gloves. The final, critical step here is to pull the cuffs of the gloves right over the sleeves of your gown. You want a complete, unbroken barrier from fingertip to shoulder.

The Moment of Truth: A Safe Removal

Think of the doffing process like a deliberate, careful operation. Assume everything on the outside of your PPE is a potential hazard. The sequence is designed to remove the most contaminated items first, protecting you as you go.

1. Gloves Go First. Using a glove-in-glove technique, peel the first one off by grabbing the outside cuff, turning it inside out. Bunch it into your still-gloved hand. Then, slide a clean finger under the cuff of the second glove and peel it off over the first. Both are now contained, inside-out, and disposed of immediately.
2. Next, the Gown. Untie it and peel it away from your body. As you do, touch only the clean inside surface, rolling the contaminated outside inward into a bundle.
3. STOP. Perform Hand Hygiene. This is a critical "firebreak" in the process. Cleaning your hands now removes any contaminants that may have touched your skin.
4. Face and Eyes. Now that your hands are clean, you can safely remove your eye protection, handling it only by the clean straps or earpieces.
5. Finally, the Mask. Remove your mask or respirator by the ties or ear loops only. Never, ever touch the front of it.
6. Final Hand Hygiene. Once every piece of PPE is off, perform one last, thorough hand wash. You finish exactly as you started: with clean hands.

Building a Culture of Safety

This isn't something you learn once from a poster on the wall. It’s a skill that requires practice and discipline. In high-risk environments, a "buddy system" is a game-changer; having a colleague watch your back as you doff can catch a simple mistake before it causes a problem.

Regular training and having clearly designated areas for donning and doffing aren't just 'best practice'—they are the pillars of a workplace that truly takes safety seriously.

In healthcare, technique is everything. From a complex surgical procedure to the simple act of removing your gloves, it’s the small, precise actions, repeated perfectly every time, that prevent harm. Mastering your PPE technique is one of the most powerful things you can do.

Proper donning and doffing is important, but is your facility is fully stocked with reliable PPE, including gowns, masks, and gloves?

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