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Practice Experience Program is a self-directed education program designed to support non vocationally registered doctors on their pathway to RACGP Fellowship
RACGP offer courses and events to further develop the knowledge you need to develop your GP career
2022 RACGP curriculum and syllabus for Australian general practice
The Abuse and violence: working with our patients in general practice provides the best-available current evidence for GPs
Stay up-to-date with the latest information and resources on the COVID-19 vaccine rollout.
Download the Standards for general practice (5th edition) - a benchmark for quality care and risk management in Australian general practices
Coronavirus (COVID-19) resources for general practitioners
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Advice and guidelines for GPs and practice teams to help protect general practice information systems
Video consultations can provide convenient and accessible healthcare delivery
Read all of the RACGP reports and submissions on various healthcare topics
Read all of the RACGP position statements on various healthcare topics
Join our RACGP Facebook groups
Infection prevention and control guidelines
8. Exposure to blood and other body substances
Exposure to blood and other body substances is a risk for transmission of blood-borne viral infections such as hepatitis B, hepatitis C or HIV between healthcare workers and patients.
Procedures associated with risk of exposure of blood-borne viral infections include management of traumatic injury and invasive procedures where there is potential for direct contact between the skin (usually finger or thumb of the healthcare worker) and sharp surgical instruments, needles, or body parts (such as fractured bones or teeth). The degree of risk depends on the amount of blood or body substance injected and the viral load of the person whose blood or body substances were involved in the incident (the source).
The risk of transmitting a blood-borne virus from an untreated infected healthcare worker to a patient during an episode of exposure varies between studies and has been reported as 0.2–13.19% for hepatitis B virus, 0.04–4.35% for hepatitis C virus, and 0.0000024–0.000024% for HIV. The risk of transmission from an untreated infected patient to a healthcare worker during an exposure episode has been reported as 1– 62% for hepatitis B, 0–7% for hepatitis C, and 0.3% for HIV infection.1
All blood and body substances must be treated as though infectious, regardless of the person’s diagnosis or perceived risk of transmitting infection. Blood carries the highest risk (see Assessing risk of infection transmission).
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