Sterile Technique
This is the cornerstone of our surgical practice. The use of specific actions and activities to prevent contamination and maintain sterility.
What is sterile technique?
Scrubbed team members should not wear this on their hands and wrists as it prevents effective cleaning.
What is jewelry?
This work area is open to employees in street clothes and can include staff cafeteria, hallways, and staff lounge.
What is the unrestricted area?
This must not be worn in any non-Hartford Healthcare public place (i.e., coffee shops, the grocery store, restaurants, car dealerships) by any health care personnel.
What is hospital-laundered surgical scrubs?
This team member is responsible for bringing the patient back to the Operating Room and starting the preoperative antibiotic. They work in close collaboration with the OR Nurse to coordinate care for the patient.
Who is the CRNA or nurse anesthetist?
When scrubbed team members move in and around the sterile field, they should move this way to prevent contamination.
What is moving back-to-back or face to face when changing positions?
This item is needed to cover one's hair or head prior to entering the semi-restricted areas (i.e. OR hallways, scrub sink areas, sterile processing department).
What is a head covering? What is a bouffant or surgical cap?
This work area includes the sterile cores, operating rooms and requires a surgical mask, hospital-laundered scrubs, and PPE such as bouffant caps and beard covers.
What is the restricted area?
In January of 2024, a CT law went into effect that required all hospitals and surgery centers to have an evacuation policy related to what operating room byproduct?
Surgical Smoke Evacuation
"(b) Not later than January 1, 2024, each hospital and outpatient surgical facility shall develop a policy for the use of a surgical smoke evacuation system to prevent a person's exposure to surgical smoke. Not later than January 1, 2024, each hospital and outpatient facility shall implement such policy and, upon request, provide a copy of such policy to the Department of Public Health."
This team member is responsible for setting up and maintaining the sterile field throughout the procedure.
Who is the Surgical Technologist?
When a reusable item is sterilized, this is placed on the outside and inside of the container.
What is a chemical indicator?
Before entering an operating room suite, a person must don this item and refrain from wearing it dangling from the neck.
What is a surgical mask?
This work area is where specimens are taken and prepared for testing both intraoperatively and postoperatively.
What is Pathology?
This item is required to be worn by operating room circulating staff and core staff and must be snapped closed with cuffs to the wrists to contain shedding skin cells from bare arms.
What is warm up jackets or scrub jackets?
This team member is responsible for directing the team and performing the surgery according to the needs of the patient. They are the primary decision maker regarding surgical technique, instruments, suture, dressings, and/or drains.
Who is the Surgeon?
The practice of separating instruments and supplies used during the resection portions of bowel and metastic cancer procedures to prevent cross contamination between areas considered dirty or contaminated and clean or seeding of cancer cells.
What is the isolation technique?
Perioperative team members should wear these when gross contamination can be anticipated.
What is shoe coverings or shoe booties?
These are the professionals that play a critical role in preventing infection by sterilizing, cleaning, processing, assembling, storing, and distributing surgical supplies.
Who are the sterile processing professionals
When this occurs, corrective action should be taken immediately unless the patient’s safety is at risk. If corrective action cannot be corrected immediately, it should be taken as soon as it is safe for the patient.
What is break in sterile technique?
This team member is responsible for assisting the surgeon throughout the procedure by holding retractors, cutting suture, stapling and superficial skin closures. They see surgical patients in the clinic after surgery and round on them for the duration of the hospital stay.
Who is the PA-C, Nurse Practitioner, APRN, or Surgical Resident?
This occurs when moisture soaks through drapes, gowns, and packages and renders the item contaminated.
What is strikethrough?
This item is worn to protect team members from splashes of blood and body fluids in the eyes.
What is eye protection or face shield?
This is where the OR Nurse gathers any needed soft supplies for their Operating Room. This area requires a jacket and a mask at all times.
What are the sterile cores?
This should be prepared as close as possible to the time of use and should not be moved from the location it will be used.
What is the sterile field?
This team member is a non-scrubbed member of the surgical team whose primary responsibility is to be the patient’s advocate.
Who is the Circulating Nurse?