Use of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)

Students from the Charleston and AnMed Clinical campuses must review the below information created by MUSC Student Health that addresses the following:

• Mask and PPE guidelines
• PPE donning and doffing videos

AnMed students must check in with the AnMed Campus Dean for additional preparation that is required.

 

Use of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)

MASKS  

Masks On Campus:

Please refer to the University Safety Directives for the most current information regarding masks on campus.

Masks In Clinical Settings:

All MUSC Health care team members, including clinical students, are required to wear appropriate masks while in clinical settings and consistently self-monitor. Clinical care team members are to only use MUSC-provided masks, not externally sourced or homemade masks. The type of mask required to be worn depends on the work setting. MUSC-provided masks include isolation masks, N95 respirators or surgical masks. Guidelines for each type of masks are outlined below.  

• Isolation Masks:  Social distancing is difficult in health care settings. Universal use of isolation masks while at work may help reduce transmission of COVID-19 from individuals with mild or unrecognized COVID-19 symptoms.  Isolation masks should be worn while at work in all clinical or common areas of the hospital, except when required to wear the N95 respirator or surgical mask for patient care situations as defined below. Wearing of isolation masks should improve patients’ confidence in our commitment to ensuring a safe environment. Care team members must don a new isolation mask each day upon reporting to work and dispose of the mask in a trash bin at the conclusion of work.  Any mask which becomes soiled or wet with secretions during work should be disposed of and a new mask donned.
• N95 Respirators are for care team members who are in the room of a symptomatic rule-out COVID-19 or any lab-confirmed COVID-19 patient. These masks are designed to reduce exposure to >95% airborne contaminants. To be effective they must be individually selected to fit the wearer's face and provide a good seal. A respirator should be worn when caring for COVID-19 patients, especially when performing aerosol generating procedures (bronchoscopy, intubation, etc.).
• Surgical masks must be worn in the operating room, and should not be worn outside of the operating room areas.

If at any point a student cannot secure a mask from the hospital or clinical setting, they may obtain one from the COM Dean's office.

Report PPE shortages through the COM Student Concern Reporting system!

Student COVID Module

PPE Donning and Doffing Videos

Additional PPE Information

Bouffant caps and non-rated yellow isolation gowns may also be utilized by students in the patient care setting as needed in the course of daily clinical work.

In research laboratories and other circumstances which may make social distancing impossible, additional PPE or other measures may be required to minimize risk.