Since 2000, the use of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) has become an integral part of CPR courses. The most common types of protection are latex gloves and mouth-to-barrier devices. Body substance isolation (BSI) procedures assume that all body fluids are a possible risk. It is recommended that a rescuer follow BSI procedures even if blood or body fluids are not visible. Students in lifesaving courses are now taught to carry and use PPE before beginning victim assessment and care. The purpose of this research was to examine the time needed to locate and use PPE when initiating basic life support. Subjects were 55 volunteer college students enrolled in First Aid/CPR courses. Students were required to carry a key-chain packet of PPE at all times during the semester they were enrolled in the course. All students were currently CPR certified and had no knowledge of the purpose of the study. Subjects were told to pretend that they had just entered the Student Center and that a fellow student had collapsed. Each subject was assessed on the order of completing and the time taken to put on gloves, examine levels of consciousness, call 911, open the airway, check breathing, locate their barrier, open and position the barrier, successfully breath into the manikin, look for signs of circulation, and total assessment time. Of the 55 subjects, only 27 (49%) initially put on their gloves taking an average time of 23 seconds. For those who did not put on their gloves first, 21% called 911 and 79% examined levels of consciousness. On average, for all subjects, the time taken to put on their gloves was 32 seconds. All 55 subjects located, opened, and positioned their barrier before attempting a breath. The average times taken to locate the barrier, to open and position the barrier, and time of successful breaths were 35, 50, and 75 seconds, respectively. The average total assessment time was 82 seconds suggesting that actual life support (rescue breathing or CPR) would have begun at that time. These findings are important considering that brain damage is possible in a victim if resuscitation is not started within 4 - 6 minutes after collapse. Further research is needed in this area to determine procedures that can decrease the time needed to correctly use PPE.Keyword(s): disease prevention, medical/medical care, safety/injury prevention