What is the glove change protocol during medication handling?

The glove change protocol during medication handling emphasizes the importance of infection control and maintaining a sterile environment. The correct approach is to change gloves between cleaning and medication handling. This ensures that any potential contaminants from the cleaning process do not transfer to the medications, thus minimizing the risk of infection or cross-contamination during administration.

Using gloves during medication administration serves to protect both the healthcare provider and the patient. By changing gloves after cleaning, you maintain a barrier that helps to ensure that any germs or contaminants picked up during the cleaning process do not interfere with the medication's integrity or the patient's health.

Other choices suggest practices that could compromise safety. Changing gloves only after medication administration does not account for potential contamination that may occur during cleaning. Wearing gloves only for eye treatments limits protective measures that should be consistent across all medication handling scenarios. Lastly, keeping the same gloves for all procedures does not adhere to infection control protocols, as this increases the risk of transferring contaminants from one process to another.