Bloodborne Pathogens Training for Healthcare

Bloodborne pathogens are infectious microorganisms in human blood that can cause life-threatening diseases and pose severe risks to humans. These pathogens include but are not limited to, hepatitis B (HBV), hepatitis C (HCV), and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). 

OSHA regulations require employers to ensure that their workers receive regular training that covers all elements of the standard, including, but not limited to:

• Information on bloodborne pathogens and diseases 
    
• Methods used to control occupational exposure
    
• Hepatitis B vaccine
    
• Medical evaluation and post-exposure follow-up procedures 

This mandatory bloodborne pathogen training aims to teach employers and employees how to reduce the risk of exposure to bloodborne pathogens and control those risks if they occur. 

Training can be much more self-paced, convenient, and engaging with today’s technology, allowing the training to be completed online. To prove your proficiency with bloodborne pathogens, you can complete our 100% online bloodborne pathogen training course and earn a bloodborne pathogen certificate to demonstrate your expertise in the subject matter. 

A Certificate of Compliance for Bloodborne Pathogens is required for professionals and workers who are at risk of occupational exposure to blood or other potentially infectious materials (OPIM).

The Bloodborne Pathogens standard is relevant to any employee who might reasonably be expected to encounter blood or other pathogens during their work. However, specifically, there are four primary groups of workers that employers should particularly ensure are protected:

1. Employees with direct patient contact
2. Employees who draw blood
3. Employees who work with blood and other fluids
4. Employees who handle contaminated medical equipment

To receive a Bloodborne Pathogens certificate, you must complete a training course that satisfies CDC and OSHA training requirements. Once you successfully complete the course, you'll receive a downloadable certificate that you can print out or email to your employer.

This certificate shows you're up-to-date on the essential safety practices for handling and avoiding bloodborne pathogens, methods of control, personal protective equipment (PPE), and housekeeping. And with many workplaces requiring annual renewal, our training makes it easy to stay compliant year after year.

Depending on its content and teaching style, a course may take one to eight hours to finish. After completion, you must take an exam to earn your certification in bloodborne pathogens.

Finding the time in your busy schedule for an 8-hour in-person training requires significant dedication. One of the best things about our online Bloodborne Pathogens Training is that you can complete it at your own pace, pause the course as needed, and return later. You can even retake the exam until you pass it, free of charge, offering flexibility and affordability. 

Those who complete the training and pass the exam will receive a Bloodborne Pathogens Training certification with a validity of one year. 

As mentioned earlier, employers who have employees exposed to blood or other potentially infectious materials (OPIM) must train all employees annually by OSHA's bloodborne pathogens requirements. 

Yes, employers who have workers exposed to blood or other potentially infectious materials (OPIM) are required by OSHA's bloodborne pathogens regulations to annually train all workers, regardless of their past education or training.

The bloodborne pathogens standard requires initial and annual training of employees and when new or modified tasks or procedures affect a worker’s occupational exposure. [29 CFR 1910.1030(g)(2)(ii)]. Refresher training only needs to cover the topics listed in the standard to the extent required and does not need to be an exact repetition of the previous annual training. 

Bloodborne pathogens are microorganisms transmitted through the bloodstream and other potentially infectious materials (OPIM). An infected individual’s bodily fluids must enter another individual’s bloodstream for a bloodborne pathogen to spread. The most common cause of transmission in a healthcare environment is when an infected individual’s blood enters another individual’s bloodstream through an open wound. 

Bloodborne pathogens are most commonly transmitted through:

• Accidental punctures from contaminated needles, broken glass, or other sharp objects
• Contact between broken or damaged skin and infected body fluids
• Contact between mucous membranes, such as eyes, nose, or mouth, and infected body fluids
• Sexual Contact
• Sharing of hypodermic needles 
• From mothers to their babies at/before birth

However, contaminated blood can get into your system through the following:

• Open sores
• Cuts
• Abrasions
• Acne
• Any damaged or broken skin, such as sunburn, chapped skin, or blisters

According to OSHA’s bloodborne pathogen standard, an employee is at risk if the employer reasonably anticipates that skin, eye, mucous membrane, mouth, or digestive tract may come in contact with blood or other potentially infectious materials (OPIM) as part of performing their job.

First responders, housekeepers, janitorial staff in various work environments, nurses, and other healthcare workers are just a few jobs that could expose their employees to bloodborne viruses.

The CDC states that body art professionals, correctional workers, and maintenance and waste workers are also at risk. Moreover, the CDC estimates that 5.6 million employees in the healthcare industry and related occupations are at risk of exposure to bloodborne pathogens.

Exposure may occur in specific scenarios, such as administering first aid to a student, working with human cells in a lab, or cleaning up blood in a hallway.

For this reason, bloodborne pathogen training benefits people who risk encountering blood and other potentially infectious materials (OPIM) while working. 

OPIM may consist of:

• Sharp objects
• Medical equipment
• Worksite tools
• Saturated clothing
• Needles
• Other bodily fluids containing blood (Saliva, Amniotic fluid, etc.) 

As an employer or worksite manager, you will also find it helpful if you need to create a safety plan to lower the risk for others.

1. Exposure Control Plan (ECP): Develop and maintain a written plan detailing how the workplace will achieve compliance. This plan should be regularly reviewed and updated, especially when new procedures or tasks that affect occupational exposure are introduced.
2. Universal Precautions: Treat all human blood and certain human body fluids as if they were known to be infectious for HIV, HBV, and other bloodborne pathogens. It's a preventive measure to minimize risk.
3. Personal Protective Equipment (PPE): Provide, at no cost to the workers, appropriate PPE such as gloves, gowns, face shields, masks, and eye protection. Ensure that they are readily accessible, and that staff are trained in their use and disposal.
4. Training and Education: Conduct regular training for all employees who may encounter blood or other potentially infectious materials. The training should be comprehensive, covering the basics of bloodborne pathogens, methods of transmission, prevention measures, and the specifics of the company's ECP.

Additionally, other methods might include vaccination programs (like offering Hepatitis B vaccinations), post-exposure procedures, and proper waste disposal procedures. Regularly monitoring and reviewing the effectiveness of these measures is also an integral part of maintaining compliance.

To successfully complete the course and earn Continuing Education Units (CEUs), you must:

• Complete the required time within the course curriculum before the course is considered finished.
• Validate your identity at designated checkpoints throughout the course.*
• Pass all quizzes and the final exam with a minimum score of 70% within three attempts or fewer before a certificate of completion can be issued and CEUs can be awarded.**

*How is identity validated during the course?

360training verifies each learner’s identity through periodic validation questions during the learning event. At the beginning of the course, learners are prompted to answer a series of personal validation questions. These responses are securely saved in the Learning Management System (LMS).

• What is your childhood nickname?
• What is the name of your favorite childhood friend?
• What is your oldest cousin’s first name?

Throughout the course, the LMS will prompt learners to answer these validation questions at preset intervals (e.g., every ten minutes).

• If a learner answers correctly, they are allowed to continue.
• Incorrect responses may result in the learning event being temporarily locked.

This process ensures the individual completing the course is the same person who enrolled.

**How are CEUs calculated?

Upon successful completion of the course requirements, CEUs will be awarded according to the following standard:

• 10 hours of education = 1.0 CEUs
• 30 hours of education = 3.0 CEUs
• 5 hours of education = 0.5 CEUs

Important: Partial credit or adjusted CEUs are not awarded. Learners must fully meet all course requirements, including identity validation, time-in-course, and passing scores, to receive CEUs.