Definitions & Goal
This is the specific term for the practices that reduce the number, growth, and spread of pathogenic microorganisms.
What is Medical Asepsis?
This general category includes any type of procedure from open heart surgery to the excision of a skin cancer in an office.
What are surgical procedures?
The three things that must be free of all microorganisms to achieve surgical asepsis.
What are tools/equipment, work area/environment, and workers/persons?
The size of the unsterile border around a sterile field.
What is a 1-inch border?
True or False: If an object is dropped on the floor, it is still considered sterile if its outer wrapper is intact.
What is False?
The primary and consistent purpose of surgical asepsis, regardless of where it is practiced.
What is preventing infection?
This type of dressing change requires surgical asepsis because it creates a direct opening between the patient's bloodstream and the outside world.
What is a wound dressing change (or certain IV therapies)?
In a surgery suite, the four required sterile attire items are gowns, hats, gloves, and this.
What is a face mask?
This is considered contaminated because bacteria can travel through it on a sterile cloth or paper via capillary action.
What is moisture?
The color used to indicate areas that are unsterile or contaminated.
What is red?
The cleanliness standard achieved by surgical asepsis, ensuring an environment is completely free from these
What are all microorganisms?
This common urological procedure involves introducing a foreign object into the patient's body, requiring surgical asepsis.
What is a urinary catheter insertion?
When wearing a sterile gown, the area considered sterile is from the shoulder down to this level, on the front side.
What is table level (or tabletop)?
A sterile area must never be left unattended or out of the healthcare worker's sight because it is then considered this.
What is contaminated?
True or False: It is acceptable to talk, laugh, or cough over a sterile field as long as you are wearing a mask.
What is False?
These organisms can only be seen with a microscope, including bacteria, viruses, and fungi.
What are microorganisms?
The main threat that surgical asepsis aims to prevent when a foreign object is introduced into a patient's body.
What is a possible route of transmission for an infectious agent?
Any evidence of this, or a break in the seal of a sterile instrument package, means the instrument is considered unsterile and must be discarded.
What is moisture?
The direction an individual should open packages of sterile supplies so that the last flap is toward them, preventing the unsterile arm from passing over the sterile area.
What is opening the package so the last flap is toward the individual?
What you must do if someone else states that contamination of a sterile field has occurred, even if you do not personally believe it.
What is simply consider that contamination has occurred and take steps to remedy the situation?
The term for knowing and adhering to the principles of asepsis and sterile techniques at all times, whether you are alone or observed.
What is Surgical Conscience?
The goal of asepsis in an operating room is to prevent contamination by doing this to the operative site from the surrounding nonsterile environment.
What is isolating the operative site (or isolating the surgical wound)?
In a bedside sterile procedure, the healthcare worker must wear a face mask and these two items (Hint: one is sterile).
What are a face mask and sterile gloves?
If a sterile solution is opened at the patient's bedside, the healthcare worker must add this to the bottle, and discard it if it is missing.
What is the expiration date/time?
This is what the term "Strike through" refers to when moisture soaks through a sterile package, causing the article to be considered contaminated.
What is when moisture soaks through a package?