Compliance with universal precautions: Knowledge and behavior of residents and students in a department of obstetrics and gynecology

Objectives: To assess the knowledge of universal precautions for the delivery and operating rooms by residents and students and to evaluate their use of universal precautions. Study Design: Obstetrics and gynecology (ob/gyn) residents (n = 30) and students (n = 31) from an inner‐city, teaching hospital were polled by anonymous questionnaire to assess their knowledge of the appropriate barrier equipment for certain ob/gyn procedures. To determine actual compliance with universal precautions, 459 ob/gyn procedures were observed. We noted the use of appropriate barrier equipment for each procedure: gloves for pelvic exam and face shields, gowns, gloves, and booties for vaginal delivery, cesarean delivery, and dilation and curettage. The True Epistat statistical software program was used to perform simple regression analysis. Results Thirty residents (100%) knew the appropriate barrier equipment required for each type of procedure performed. One student (