Purpose: Wearing gloves helps protect both patients and health care workers from infection.

1. Perform hand hygiene and observe other appropriate infection prevention procedures.

Rationale: Decreases the bacterial count on hands and prevents contamination of sterile equipment.

2. Prepare sterile gloves ensuring the correct size and inspect for tear and/or stains

3. Open the package of sterile gloves, without contaminating inner package.

Rationale: The inner surfaces, which are next to the sterile gloves, will remain sterile.

4. Grasp the inner package and lay it on a clean, dry and flat-surfaced waist level area

Rationale: Any moisture on the surface could contaminate the gloves.

5. Identify right and left glove, Each glove has cuff approximately 5 cm (2 inches) wide. Glove
dominant hand first.

Rationale: The hands are not sterile. By touching only the inside of the glove, the nurse avoids
contaminating the outside.

6. Carefully pull glove over dominant hand, leaving cuff and being sure that it does not roll up
wrist. Be sure that thumb and fingers are in proper spaces.

Rationale: If the thumb is kept against the palm, it is less likely to contaminate the outside of the
glove.

7. With gloved dominant hand, slip fingers underneath cuff of second glove.

Rationale: In this position, the thumb is less likely to touch the arm and become contaminated.

8. Carefully pull second glove over non-dominant hand. Do not allow fingers and thumb of gloved
dominant hand to touch any part of exposed dominant hand. Keep thumb of dominant hand
abducted back.

Rationale: Protect your gloved fingers to maintain sterility; sterile Touching sterile only to
prevent contamination.

9. After second glove is on, interlock fingers of gloved hands and hold away from body above waist
level until beginning procedure.

Rationale: This step prevents the accidental touching of non-sterile objects or the front of the gown, or
contamination.

10. Glove Disposal

 a. Grasp outside of one cuff with other gloved hand; avoid touching wrist. Pull halfway down palm
of hand. Take thumb of half-ungloved hand and place under cuff of other glove.

Rationale: Doing this, prevents the contamination of the hand when removing glove.

b. Pull glove off, turning it inside out. Discard in receptacle.

Rationale: This step prevents the contamination of gloved hand touching ungloved hand.

c. Take fingers of bare hand and tuck inside remaining glove cuff. Peel glove off inside

11. Perform hand hygiene.

Rationale: This removes powder from the gloves, which can irritate the skin; it also prevents
contamination from potential pinholes in the gloves