The practice of PPE amongst fourth year medical students at A&E. Where are we?

Background: This cross sectional study was done to identify the areas of lack of knowledge, practice and awareness of students about the effective use of personal protective equipment (PPE). Methods: A total of 40 students were selected when they were posted to the accident and emergency unit (A&E) in Seremban Hospital; all of them answered a questionnaire and were observed unaware on the effective use of PPE in the A&E. Results: We found that17.5% of students were unaware of the right technique of removing the gloves after a procedure and 25% of students were unaware of safety of hand washing. During invasive procedures, 12.5 % of students did not wash their hands before invasive procedures, 65% did not wear aprons and 57.5% did not wear masks. During non- invasive procedures more than 25% of students did not wash hands before or after the procedures. Conclusion: There is still significant lack of knowledge in students about the effective use of PPE that needs to be addressed.