Tech in Surgery Prep / Unit 8 TSC 180 worked example, 60 to 90 seconds
Sharps Safety in the OR
The idea
Sharps injuries are a direct route for bloodborne infection, and the operating room uses more sharps than almost anywhere else.
In practice
Apply the controls in order of strength. First, engineering controls: safer sharps devices, blunt-tip suture needles where suitable, shielded or retracting scalpels, and needleless connectors. Second, work practices: contaminated needles are never bent, recapped by hand or broken, and they go into a sharps container immediately or as soon as feasible. Third, containers: sharps containers are kept close to where sharps are used, and are never overfilled or reached into. Fourth, passing: a neutral zone, or hands-free technique, keeps sharps from passing hand to hand. Fifth, protection: double gloving is advised, because glove punctures often happen without anyone noticing.
Where people slip
Most sharps injuries happen during passing, loading and disposal, not during cutting. Those are the moments the scrub person controls, so they get full attention every time.
Your place on the trail
Every lesson rests on earlier ones and opens later ones. Tap any to jump.
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