Doffing: The Pre-doffing Briefing

Once in the doffing area, remind the health care provider, or the health care provider and doffing assistant to wait for your instructions before beginning the doffing protocol. It is important to remind the health care provider not to touch their face or any other exposed body parts during the process. Appropriate communications will help you keep the health care provider and any doffing assistant safe.

Take the time to go through the order and the activities on the checklist and set expectations for a slow and steady pace for safely completing the doffing process.

Prompted by the checklist, provide step-by-step instructions to the healthcare provider. Use closed-loop communication throughout the process. Each step should be acknowledged by the health care provider, the action taken, and then re-acknowledged by the observer as completed. Only then should you move on to the next step. Be familiar with the checklist but remember your focus is on the bigger picture.