Tech in Surgery Prep / Unit 21 TSC 512 worked example, 60 to 90 seconds
Urinary Catheters
The idea
A urinary catheter drains urine from the bladder, and placing one is a sterile procedure.
In practice
Learn the key points in order. First, inserting a urinary catheter requires sterile gloves and a sterile field, because the bladder is normally sterile. Second, catheters are a common cause of health care–associated urinary infections. Third, national guidance prefers intermittent catheterization to an indwelling catheter whenever feasible, because it lowers the infection risk. Fourth, in surgery, a catheter may be placed to keep the bladder empty or to measure urine output, as the surgeon and anesthesia provider decide. Fifth, the catheter's placement is documented and the recovery team is told.
Where people slip
Every day a catheter stays in raises the infection risk. The decision to place one, and when to remove it, belongs to the surgical and nursing team, not to convenience.
Your place on the trail
Every lesson rests on earlier ones and opens later ones. Tap any to jump.
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