Tech in Surgery Prep / Unit 18 TSC 427 worked example, 60 to 90 seconds
Principles of a Sterile Field
The idea
A sterile field stays sterile only when everyone around it follows a small set of firm principles.
In practice
Learn the principles in order. First, only sterile items enter the sterile field. Second, sterile people touch only sterile items, and unsterile people touch only unsterile items. Third, a field that is not kept in view is considered contaminated. Fourth, the edges of a sterile surface, and anything that hangs below its level, are considered contaminated. Fifth, anything below the waist is considered not sterile, even a sterile-gloved hand. Sixth, moisture that soaks through from an unsterile area contaminates a sterile surface. Seventh, nobody reaches over a sterile field, and movement around it is restricted and controlled.
Where people slip
These principles do not bend for urgency or convenience. When one is broken, the response is to fix it, not to judge whether it probably mattered.
Your place on the trail
Every lesson rests on earlier ones and opens later ones. Tap any to jump.
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