Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) Competency Validation
A comprehensive competency assessment tool designed to evaluate healthcare professionals' proficiency in safely donning and doffing personal protective equipment. This structured checklist guides evaluators through hand hygiene protocols, gown application, respirator fit verification, eye protection placement, and glove techniques. Includes assessment of knowledge across standard, contact, droplet, and airborne precaution protocols to ensure staff can correctly select PPE for varied clinical scenarios. Promotes infection prevention excellence and reduces occupational exposure risks.
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How to Use This Checklist
- Confirm the practitioner's identity and the clinical department or unit where the assessment is taking place.
- Record the date and time the assessment was conducted, who conducted it, and the location.
- Work through the Donning PPE Procedure: hand hygiene for a minimum of 20 seconds, gown application with full torso coverage and ties secured at the neck and waist, mask or respirator secured and the nosepiece molded to the nasal bridge, a positive and negative pressure fit-check if a respirator is used, goggles or face shield positioned over the eyes and face, and examination gloves with cuffs extended over the gown's wrist openings.
- Work through the Doffing PPE Procedure: grasp and peel the first glove inside-out, slide fingers under the second glove at the wrist without touching the contaminated outer surface, peel it off over the first glove, discard both gloves, remove eye protection by handling only the headband or ear pieces, unfasten the gown ties from neck to waist and pull the gown away touching only the inner surface, turn it inside out and discard it, remove the mask or respirator by grasping the bottom ties or elastics first then the top, and discard it. Resp iators are removed after exiting the room and closing the door. Finish with hand hygiene for a minimum of 20 seconds.
- Select the transmission-based precaution scenarios demonstrated during the assessment and confirm correct PPE selection: appropriate components for standard precautions, gown and gloves for contact or contact enteric precautions, a surgical mask for droplet precautions, and a fit-tested respirator for airborne precautions when applicable.
- Record the number of critical donning steps performed correctly out of eight, assign an overall donning and doffing competency rating from 1 (needs improvement) to 5 (fully proficient), and note evaluator observations, identified gaps, and recommended follow-up actions.
- Complete the summary with the signature and the finish time.
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What is PPE competency validation?
PPE competency validation is a structured assessment of whether a healthcare worker can safely put on and take off personal protective equipment in the correct sequence. You observe the practitioner working through the donning and doffing procedures and record each step, so you can confirm that the technique is correct and that the person understands which PPE to select for the precaution in use. This checklist guides you through five areas: PPE Competency Assessment, Donning PPE Procedure, Doffing PPE Procedure, Transmission-Based Precautions Knowledge, and Competency Assessment Summary.
Why it matters
Every step in the donning and doffing sequence exists to keep contamination away from skin and clothing and to stop it spreading beyond the clinical area. Hand hygiene for a minimum of 20 seconds before you begin and again after you finish removes organisms from the hands. A gown that covers the torso from the neck to the knees, with sleeves to the wrists and ties fastened at the neck and waist, shields clothing and skin. A mask or respirator secured at the crown of the head and base of the neck, with the nosepiece molded to the nasal bridge and a snug fit below the chin, reduces the risk of inhaling infectious particles. A fit-check for a respirator — positive and negative pressure — confirms the seal before the person enters the room. Eye protection positioned over the eyes and face protects mucous membranes. Gloves with cuffs extending over the gown's wrist openings close the gap between sleeve and hand. When doffing, each item must be removed in the order that keeps contaminated surfaces away from skin and clothing. Gloves are peeled off inside-out. Eye protection is handled only by the headband or ear pieces. The gown is unfastened from neck to waist, pulled away touching only the inner surface, turned inside out, and discarded. The mask or respirator is removed by grasping the bottom ties or elastics first, then the top, and respirators are removed after exiting the room and closing the door. Hand hygiene for a minimum of 20 seconds follows immediately. A structured validation gives you a consistent way to check that every practitioner can follow these steps and can select the right PPE for the scenario at hand.
What a good PPE competency validation covers
**A complete validation covers three things: the donning sequence, the doffing sequence, and the knowledge needed to select PPE for different transmissions.** The donning portion of this checklist follows eight critical steps. The practitioner performs hand hygiene for a minimum of 20 seconds, dons an isolation gown with full torso coverage from the neck to the knees and sleeves to the wrists, secures the gown at the neck and waist, dons a surgical mask or respirator secured at the crown of the head and base of the neck, molds the flexible nosepiece to the nasal bridge, verifies a snug fit and performs a positive and negative pressure fit-check if a respirator is used, positions goggles or a face shield over the eyes and face, and dons examination gloves with cuffs extended over the gown's wrist openings to create a continuous protective barrier. The doffing portion follows the sequence that keeps contaminated surfaces inward. The practitioner grasps the exterior of the first glove near the wrist and peels it inside-out, then holds the removed glove in the still-gloved hand. Fingers of the ungloved hand slide under the remaining glove at the wrist, avoiding the contaminated outer surface. The second glove is peeled off over the first so both are contained inside-out. Both gloves go into the designated waste container immediately. Eye protection is removed by handling only the headband or ear pieces, then placed in the designated reprocessing receptacle or discarded per facility protocol. The gown ties are unfastened from the neck to the waist, and the gown is pulled away from the neck and shoulders while touching only the inner surface. It is turned inside out, bundled so contaminated surfaces concentrate inward, and discarded. The mask or respirator is removed by grasping the bottom ties or elastics first, then the top, pulling away from the face without touching the front — respirators come off after exiting the room and closing the door. The mask or respirator is discarded, and hand hygiene for a minimum of 20 seconds follows immediately. The knowledge section confirms that the practitioner can select PPE for each precaution scenario: appropriate components for standard precautions based on the anticipated level of exposure, gown and gloves for contact or contact enteric precautions, a surgical mask for droplet precautions, and a fit-tested respirator for airborne precautions when applicable.
How to carry out the validation
1. Record the date, the person conducting the assessment, the location, and the clinical department or unit where the assessment takes place. 2. Observe the practitioner performing hand hygiene for a minimum of 20 seconds before donning. 3. Observe the donning sequence and record each of the eight critical steps as performed correctly or not. 4. Observe the doffing sequence, checking that each item is removed in the order that keeps contaminated surfaces inward and that gloves, eye protection, gown, and mask or respirator are discarded or reprocessed correctly. 5. Confirm that hand hygiene for a minimum of 20 seconds is performed immediately after doffing all PPE. 6. Select the transmission-based precaution scenarios demonstrated during the assessment and confirm that the practitioner identifies the correct PPE for standard, contact or contact enteric, droplet, and airborne precautions. 7. Record the number of critical donning steps performed correctly out of eight. 8. Assign the overall donning and doffing competency rating on a scale from 1 (needs improvement) to 5 (fully proficient). 9. Note evaluator observations, identified gaps, and recommended follow-up actions in the summary section, then complete the signature and finish time.
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