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Home›Courses›Healthcare & Patient Safety›Bloodborne Pathogens in Healthcare Settings

Bloodborne Pathogens in Healthcare Settings

29 minutesEN / ES / MLCCHealthcare & Patient Safety29 CFR 1910.1030 - Bloodborne Pathogens Standard
Quick Answer

Bloodborne Pathogens in Healthcare Settings is a 29-minute online course that trains healthcare workers on OSHA's Bloodborne Pathogens Standard (29 CFR 1910.1030), including exposure prevention, standard precautions, engineering controls, and post-exposure response procedures. It is designed for clinical staff, patient care providers, and support personnel in healthcare facilities and includes a downloadable certificate of completion.

Course Overview

OSHA estimates that 5.6 million workers across healthcare and related industries face occupational exposure to bloodborne pathogens including hepatitis B (HBV), hepatitis C (HCV), and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). Healthcare workers face the highest risk due to routine contact with blood and other potentially infectious materials during patient care. The Bloodborne Pathogens Standard (29 CFR 1910.1030) is one of OSHA's most actively enforced regulations, with citations most frequently issued for failure to establish a written exposure control plan, failure to provide annual training, and failure to offer the hepatitis B vaccination series within 10 days of hire.

This course trains your healthcare staff on the specific requirements of OSHA's Bloodborne Pathogens Standard as they apply to clinical and patient care settings. Your employees will learn standard precautions and universal precautions, proper use of engineering controls such as sharps disposal containers and safety-engineered needles, PPE selection and use, exposure incident response procedures, and the hepatitis B vaccination requirements. The training addresses real-world healthcare scenarios where exposure risk is highest.

What You'll Learn

  • OSHA Bloodborne Pathogens Standard (29 CFR 1910.1030) requirements for healthcare employers
  • Transmission routes for HBV, HCV, and HIV in clinical settings
  • Standard precautions and universal precautions for infection control
  • Engineering controls including sharps disposal containers, self-sheathing needles, and needleless systems
  • Personal protective equipment selection, use, and disposal in patient care areas
  • Exposure incident procedures including immediate response, medical evaluation, and documentation
  • Hepatitis B vaccination requirements and the employee declination process
  • Exposure control plan components and annual review requirements

Who Needs This Training

  • Registered nurses, licensed practical nurses, and nurse practitioners providing direct patient care
  • Medical assistants, phlebotomists, and laboratory technicians who handle blood and body fluid specimens
  • Emergency department and surgical staff exposed to blood during procedures
  • Patient transport and housekeeping personnel who handle contaminated materials and linens
  • Dental hygienists and dental assistants working in oral healthcare settings
  • Clinical supervisors responsible for enforcing exposure control plans in their departments

Regulatory Background

OSHA's Bloodborne Pathogens Standard (29 CFR 1910.1030), originally issued in 1991 and amended in 2001 following the Needlestick Safety and Prevention Act, requires employers to protect workers with reasonably anticipated exposure to blood or other potentially infectious materials. The standard mandates written exposure control plans updated annually, engineering and work practice controls, hepatitis B vaccinations within 10 days of hire, annual training, and detailed recordkeeping. OSHA enforcement data from 2013 through 2025 shows the most frequently cited provisions are failure to establish a written exposure control plan, failure to provide training, and failure to offer the hepatitis B vaccination series. Serious violations carry penalties up to $16,550, with willful violations reaching $165,514. Healthcare employers must also document annual consideration of safer medical devices and solicit non-managerial employee input on engineering controls.

Frequently Asked Questions

OSHA requires that training be interactive, allowing employees to ask questions. Online training with built-in knowledge checks and access to a qualified trainer for questions can meet this requirement. However, employers must supplement the training with site-specific information about their exposure control plan, the specific hazards in their facility, and the location of safety equipment and post-exposure resources.
Employers must provide initial training at the time of assignment to tasks where occupational exposure may occur and annual retraining thereafter. Additional training is required when new tasks, procedures, or job positions involving exposure are introduced. Training records must be maintained for three years from the date of the training session.
The worker should wash the wound immediately with soap and water (or flush mucous membranes with water), report the incident to their supervisor, and seek medical evaluation as soon as possible. The employer must provide a confidential post-exposure medical evaluation at no cost, including source patient testing when feasible, baseline blood testing, and appropriate prophylaxis within clinically recommended timeframes.
Yes. Employees may decline the vaccination, but they must sign a specific declination statement prescribed in Appendix A of 29 CFR 1910.1030. The employer must continue to offer the vaccination if the employee changes their mind, and the declination can be revoked at any time. The employer cannot require the employee to pay for the vaccination or any related medical evaluations.
According to OSHA enforcement data from 2013 through 2025, the most frequently cited provisions are failure to establish a written exposure control plan, failure to provide employee training, failure to make the hepatitis B vaccination available, failure to review and update the exposure control plan annually, and failure to offer the vaccination within 10 days of initial assignment.

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Healthcare employers building a comprehensive safety program often pair this course with Bloodborne Pathogens: Standard Precautions in the Workplace for non-clinical staff who have incidental exposure risk, and HIPAA: Protections and Compliance to address the compliance requirements that overlap between patient safety and patient privacy.

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$29.95
per person
Volume Pricing
Team Size Price per Person
1 - 9$29.95
10 - 24$23.95
25 - 49$21.55
50 - 99$17.50
Subtotal $29.95
Language

This course is available in English, Spanish, and Multi-Language CC at no additional charge.

Certificate of completion included. Downloadable upon passing the final assessment.

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$29.95
per person