Short answer: no. You do not need to wear gloves or an apron in any of the APIE stations (Assessment, Planning, Implementation and Evaluation). What the examiner is looking for instead is good hand hygiene at the right moments.
Station by station
- Planning is a written station, so PPE does not come into it.
- Evaluation is a verbal SBAR handover, so again no PPE is needed.
- Assessment: you do not need gloves or an apron to take vital signs or carry out any other assessment on your patient. Clean your hands before you touch the patient and again after touching them.
- Implementation: no gloves or apron are needed here either. Hand hygiene is essential before touching the patient, before dispensing the drugs and before giving them, with a final hand hygiene at the end.
The takeaway
Put your effort into hand hygiene, not PPE. Cleaning your hands at each of the moments above is part of what the examiner marks.
Want to practise every APIE station with feedback? See our hybrid course.