Statistically, removing PPE—known as doffing—is the most hazardous part of any clinical workflow. A single lapse in technique can instantly transfer pathogens to your skin or eyes. We analyze the critical errors frontline workers make during de-masking and provide the essential protocols to fix them before your safety is compromised.

Why Ignoring the Correct Donning and Doffing PPE Order is Dangerous

Think of the outside of your protective suit as being covered in wet, invisible paint. Everything you touch leaves a smudge. The fundamental rule of infection control is that you must remove this “paint-covered” layer without letting it touch your clean clothes or bare skin.

When workers are exhausted, they often treat taking off their gear like taking off a winter coat. However, ignoring the established donning and doffing ppe order breaks the systemic barrier that keeps you safe. Safety protocols are designed as a one-way street: clean goes on, dirty comes off in a highly specific sequence. Reversing that sequence creates a direct pathway for contamination.

The stakes change dramatically depending on where you are working. When managing ​ppe in a hospital​, the risks in a general ward differ wildly from a negative pressure isolation room. When you are dealing with aerosolized threats like COVID-19 or tuberculosis, utilizing ppe for airborne precautions is non-negotiable. If you break the removal sequence in these high-risk environments, your chances of self-infection skyrocket exponentially. This is exactly why standardizing the use of personal protective equipment in healthcare isn’t just a best practice—it’s the ultimate lifeline.

Rushing the Process: The #1 Mistake with Contaminated PPE Gear

The most common enemy of safety is speed. When professionals rush, they violently pull at their ​ppe gear​, causing invisible particles to become airborne. Snapping off a pair of gloves or ripping a gown away from your body can send viral droplets right into your breathing zone. Slow, controlled, and deliberate movements are your best defense.

The Fatal Flaw: Getting the PPE Removal Order Wrong

If you memorize only one thing today, let it be this: sequence is survival. Getting the ppe removal order wrong is the fastest way to turn a heavily protected professional into a vulnerable target.

Here are the specific, step-by-step mistakes that frequently occur in the field:

Taking Off Your Mask Before Your Gloves

It happens more often than you think. You feel suffocated, so you instinctively reach up to pull down your face mask or goggles. The problem? You are doing this with highly contaminated gloves. Your hands have touched the most dangerous surfaces in the room, and bringing them to your face instantly defeats the purpose of wearing protective gear in the first place. Gloves must always be the first thing to go.

To ensure your gloves don’t snap, tear, or cause splatter during this critical doffing process, purchasing managers and frontline workers should evaluate the following safety specifications before buying:

• High Tensile Strength: Opt for highly stretchable Nitrile materials that won’t break or snap back when executing the inside-out “peel and roll” technique.
• Extended Cuff Design: Ensure the gloves fully cover the isolation gown’s cuffs, eliminating any risk of exposed skin around the wrists during movement.
• Powder-Free Design: Reduce the risk of aerosolizing powder particles that can irritate the respiratory tract or act as carriers for airborne pathogens upon removal.
• Acceptable Quality Level (AQL): Look for medical-grade gloves with an AQL of 1.5 or lower to guarantee freedom from microscopic pinholes.

Skipping Hand Hygiene Between Steps

Many people think that washing their hands at the very end of the process is enough. It isn’t. As you remove different layers of equipment, your hands may inadvertently brush against a contaminated surface. If you don’t sanitize your hands before you reach for your face shield or respirator, you risk cross-contamination. Hand hygiene is the critical bridge between every single step of the doffing process.

Pulling the Gown from the Contaminated Front

At the end of a shift, healthcare workers often subconsciously grab their isolation gowns by the chest or stomach—the dirtiest parts of the garment—and pull downward. This is a massive mistake. Whether you are wearing standard hospital gowns or specialized ​protective medical gear​, the correct method is to unfasten the ties at the back. From there, you must “peel and roll” the gown away from your body, ensuring the contaminated front section folds inward upon itself, safely trapping the pathogens inside.

When procuring gowns, the physical design directly dictates how safely a worker can remove it. Here is a quick breakdown of how different gown styles impact doffing safety:

Engineering Out the Risk: The Fail-Safe Advantage of Breakaway Gown Design

While training is crucial, the blind spots of traditional tie-back gowns still force healthcare workers to reach behind their backs with potentially contaminated hands—a fatal flaw in the field. This is where a breakaway gown design acts as a physical fail-safe. By allowing personnel to safely apply pressure from the chest to tear the gown, the garment naturally falls forward and away from the body. It physically forces the wearer into a safe “peel and roll” motion without any awkward reaching. For procurement teams and hospital administration, investing in ergonomically designed, fail-safe gear often yields a higher return on infection control than simply adding more training seminars.

When the Shield Fails: Executing an Emergency PPE Doffing Procedure

Every manual assumes a perfect scenario, but the frontline is unpredictable. What happens if you notice torn gloves or a snapped face shield strap mid-shift? Panic is your worst enemy. If your gear is compromised, you must immediately initiate an ​emergency ppe doffing procedure​.

• The “Freeze” Protocol: Stop all movement immediately. Do not instinctively grab at the broken gear, as this will spread the pathogens further.
• Localized Sanitization: Before continuing the doffing process, immediately apply an alcohol-based hand rub to the exposed skin or the area around the breach to neutralize the immediate threat.
• Communicate and Isolate: Call out to a colleague in the safe zone for assistance. Slowly and deliberately roll the compromised gear outward, followed by a rigorous, full decontamination wash that exceeds standard protocols.

How to Ensure Proper PPE Removal Every Single Time

Your safety shouldn’t depend on how tired you are at the end of a shift. It requires muscle memory and uncompromising discipline.

To ensure proper ppe removal, always follow the “peel and roll” technique—folding the contaminated outside layers inward upon themselves. Treat every single piece of equipment as if it is actively hazardous, and never skip the hand sanitizer.

The Human Element: Implementing a Strict PPE Safety Buddy System

Even the most seasoned professionals suffer from decision fatigue after a grueling 12-hour shift. When exhaustion sets in, the brain’s muscle memory falters, and critical steps are skipped. To combat this, elite infectious disease units are implementing a ​ppe safety buddy system​.

This involves a “Trained Observer”—a colleague standing safely in the cold zone with a standardized checklist. The observer reads each step aloud and physically verifies the safe removal of each layer before the worker is cleared to proceed. This is not about surveillance; it is about protection. Building a culture where doffing is treated as a two-person job is the ultimate defense against human error.

What to Do After Removing: Safe Disposal Practices

A common question we hear from trainees is: ​after removing all your ppe what should you do​? The process isn’t truly over until the gear is properly discarded. Never leave single use ppe sitting on a counter, a bed, or a medical cart. All disposable ppe must go directly into a designated biohazard waste bin immediately after it leaves your body. Once the gear is safely in the bin, perform one final, thorough hand wash with soap and water to seal the deal.

For facility operations managers and HSE (Health, Safety, and Environment) directors weighing ongoing costs against infection control, here is why disposable PPE is often the superior choice in high-risk scenarios:

Stay safe, stay vigilant, and remember: your protection doesn’t end until the last piece of gear is safely in the bin.