Infection Prevention
The amount of time one should spend washing their hands with soap and water when visibly soiled and/or after patient interactions.
20 seconds
Proper handwashing involves washing one's hands with soap and water for at least 20 seconds.
What does each letter in the RACE acronym that is used with fire safety stand for?
R - Rescue
A - Alert
C - Contain
E - Evacuate/extinguish
Who should participate during time-out in the OR?
EVERYONE in the room.
True or false. Medications can be stored in our drawers as long as it remains unopened.
False
Medications must always be kept with us; do not ever leave medications unattended.
Where can you find all policies used with the Harris Health System, including Ben Taub Hospital?
Document control center/Policy Stat
Located on the Harris Health Intranet page
The type of PPE is required for a patient on airborne precautions. i.e. Measles, chicken pox, small pox, or TB
N-95 Mask
What are the two types of evacuation in regards to a fire in the OR?
Horizontal evacuation - to the PACU on your floor
Vertical evacuation - down the stairs using patient sleds (located in 2nd Floor PACU and/or NICU 4th floor)
What kind of a label must be on a case cart loaded with dirty instruments/sets at the end of a procedure?
Biohazard label.
Please remove the green clean label to reveal the biohazard label underneath.
4th floor - Outside OR 10
2nd floor - in front of OR 3
Who can write an incident report (eIRS)?
Anyone can write an incident report.
When writing an incident report, please be as thorough as possible; tell the complete story. If I read your report, I should not have many questions afterwards about what happened.
The "contact time" for Chlorox Bleach wipes when used to clean our OR environment.
Super Sani Cloth (Purple Top) - 2 min
Oxivir (White Top; replaced by Super Sani) - 1 min
Chlorox Bleach (C diff) - 3 min
What is the RACE acryonym used for?
How to Respond to a Fire
R - Rescue
A - Alarm/Alert
C - Contain
E - Extinguish
"If it hits the table, it needs a label."
What is this referring to?
Medications and solutions
Must label all medications/solutions and their containers (syringes, medicine cups, basins, etc.)
Must include name, strength/conc, amount, and expiration date.
The amount of time that IV fluid bags can be kept in our warmer machines.
2 weeks from the date the fluid bag was placed into the warmer.
Written informed consent must always be obtained from the patient or the patient's Legally Authorized Representative (LAR)/Surrogate Decision Maker prior to surgery/treatment except when?
Emergency i.e. STAT cases
This is the physician/surgery team's decision.
What is the last step in the sequence of removing PPE after interacting with an transmission-based isolation patient?
Hand hygiene
After every patient encounter, hand hygiene should be done. Wash your hands (for 20 seconds with soap and water) or if hands are not soiled, use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer.
An oxygen tank is considered empty when it reads less than this value of psi.
If the pressure gauge reads less than 1000 psi, it is considered EMPTY. Verify to make sure the pressure gauge indicator is inside the green section.
Verification of specimens using readback during a surgery/procedure should be done at these times.
When receiving the specimen and during debrief at the end of the case before the attending leaves the room.
Right name/source
Right test
Right number
What is the appropriate temperature and humidity range for all of our OR suites?
T = 68 - 75 F
Humidity = 20 - 60%
What does HRO stand for?
High Reliability Organization
The three categories listed under the Spaulding Classification system used to rank medical devices such as ultrasound probes, bronchoscopes, etc. in the OR.
Non-critical - devices that only contact intact skin; cleaning > low-level disinfection
Semi-critical - devices that make contact with mucous membranes or non-intact skin of the patient; cleaning > high-level disinfection (sterilization preferred)
Critical - devices introduced directly into the blood stream or sterile areas of the body; cleaning > sterilization
What do you do if there is a hazardous spill?
C - Contain the spill
L - Leave the area, remove others
E - Emergency care
A - Access the safety data sheet (SDS)
N - Notify your manager, safety rep, or the nursing supervisor
True or False. If an surgical instrument is stored properly within an undamaged, unopened peel pack or sterile rigid container, it is considered sterile even if it appears dented, rusted, or unclean.
False.
Always visibly inspect your instruments before introducing them to the sterile field.
If you open a sterile instrument and it is dented, rusted, or appears unclean, do not use it on the patient and take it out of service. Afterwards, contact central sterile processing.
How far from the ceiling and from the floor must items be stored?
Items can be stored:
- No higher than 18 inches from sprinkler heads on the ceiling
- At least 6 inches from the floor, not on the floor
If I am asked a question from a DNV surveyor that I do not know the answer to, what should my response be?
"I don't know, but I know where to find out and who I can ask."