The Evolution of Annual Fit Testing

Sweating like a turkey in a sauna box.
Just say you don’t smell a thing — perfect fit.

The first year I did a fit test, I took it serious. Hood goes on, they spray the sweet or bitter stuff, I’m focused, I want to make sure this mask seals. Okay, I get it.

Second year, same thing. Still paying attention, still trying to do it right.

By the fifth year I’m looking around thinking… this is the exact same test, the exact same video, the exact same instructions. And I’ve got decades of this ahead of me?

By year six and beyond, it’s a different game. Hood goes on, I’m sweating like crazy, and the only thing I want is to get it over with. Do I smell anything? Nope, not a thing. Let’s move on. Videos go on mute. Quizzes get answered out of habit. Compliance box checked. Done.

What’s funny is the rule for annual testing isn’t new. OSHA wrote that in back in the 1990s. But before COVID, most places just did it once in a while — at hire, or when you changed mask models. And honestly, that worked fine. People took it seriously enough to make sure they had a good seal.

Then COVID hit. Suddenly, N95s were everywhere. Supply chains were a mess. One week you had 3M, the next week you had some no-name brand. Regulators cracked down, hospitals panicked, and the “annual” rule went from something loosely followed to something enforced to the letter. And what happens when you push people too hard? They stop caring.

It’s the same as annual compliance training. The first time you pay attention. The tenth time, you’ve got it muted and you’re just clicking through. If there’s a quiz, you know the answers already. Some people even have AI do it now. Everyone knows it, nobody admits it, and nobody’s actually learning.

Same with masks. We went from making sure they sealed properly to faking our way through because the process is miserable. Too hot, too repetitive, too pointless. People lie. People rush. And half the time, staff just end up wearing surgical masks anyway because N95s are uncomfortable.

And then there’s the gowns and gloves. They throw those at us for viruses like flu and COVID, when those are airborne. It doesn’t even line up with the science. It’s theater. Looks good for the inspectors, makes the paperwork shine, but it doesn’t actually change the way things happen on the floor.

I’ll give it this: those first couple of years, we all wanted to do it right. We wanted that mask sealed, and we wanted to feel safe. But by year five, and definitely by year forty, the truth sinks in. It’s not about the mask. It’s about the paperwork. And that’s why nobody takes it seriously anymore.

Solution: Let's compromise and do it every five years. 

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Sources

• Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). Respiratory Protection Standard 1910.134 (requires annual fit testing). osha.gov

• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). NIOSH: Fit Testing of Filtering Facepiece Respirators. cdc.gov

• Michigan Occupational Safety and Health Administration (MIOSHA). Respiratory Protection Program Guidelines. Michigan Department of Labor & Economic Opportunity.

• Brosseau, Lisa M. and Sietsema, Margaret. “Commentary: Should Healthcare Workers Use N95 Masks Year After Year?” CIDRAP (Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy), University of Minnesota, 2020.