Deck 25: Coordinated Roles of the Scrub Person and the Circulating Nurse

Question 1

Which of the following is not a type of dissecting sponge?

A)Peanut
B)Swab, or gauze, sponge
C)Tonsil
D)Kittner

Answer 1

B
A swab,or gauze,sponge is a prefolded sterile sponge that should not be opened out to single ply and used for blunt dissection because fibers along the edge could become a foreign body in the wound.

Question 2

Which area is counted first during the first closing count?

A)Field
B)Garbage
C)Table
D)Floor

Answer 2

A
Counts are taken in three areas before the surgeon starts to close an incision: the field is counted first,followed by the Mayo stand and instrument table; then the circulating nurse counts sponges,tapes,and items on the floor or in the kick bucket.

Question 3

What is included in the verbal report given to the PACU nurse once the patient reaches the recovery area?

A)Type of insurance the patient has
B)Type of procedure done
C)Where the patient lives
D)Employment status

Answer 3

B
The information given to the recovery nurse is important to continuity of care and gives the recovery nurse information pertinent to providing safe care to the patient.

Question 4

Which is an acceptable method of transferring sterile items to the sterile field?

A)Reaching over the sterile field
B)Dropping large items on the sterile field
C)Flipping small, rigid items onto the sterile field
D)Shaking the item from its package

Question 5

What principle is not associated with motion economy?

A)Make each movement purposeful
B)Work quietly and quickly
C)Keep the work areas orderly
D)Use asymmetric motions

Question 6

Where should the safety belt be positioned on a patient?

A)Over the patient's chest
B)Over the patient's abdomen
C)Over the patient's thighs
D)On the patient's knees

Question 7

Which is not an example of the economical use of supplies in the OR?

A)Combining contaminated trash with noncontaminated trash
B)Turning off lights when not needed
C)Opening sutures only as needed
D)Pouring just enough antiseptic solution for the skin prep

Question 8

The correct way for the scrub person to receive a local medication on the field is

A)to use a sterile syringe and hypodermic needle and draw up the drug offered from the circulating nurse.
B)to place a cup near the edge of the sterile table and have the circulator pour the drug from the container after removing the lid.
C)dispense the drug to the sterile field after confirming drug identification and expiration date with the scrub person.
D)to wrap the drug vial in a sterile drape and have the scrub person draw it up themselves.

Question 9

When should sponges be removed from the room?

A)After they have been counted and bagged
B)Not until the patient is out of the room
C)After the first correct count
D)When there becomes too many

Question 10

What instrument should be immediately handed up after a suture ligature is passed to the surgeon?

A)A Kelly clamp
B)ESU pencil
C)Scissors
D)Mahoney dilator

Question 11

Which is a type of syringe used for injection?

A)Asepto
B)Luer-Lok
C)Tapered bulb syringe
D)Toomey

Question 12

When is the baseline count done?

A)As the tray is being assembled
B)During the setup before the procedure
C)During the procedure
D)When the incision is being closed

Question 13

When opening blades onto a sterile field,where is the best place to lay them?

A)On a sterile metal basin
B)Near other sutures to keep all sharps together
C)On top of gloves or a gown so that the scrub person will notice them
D)On the working end of the sterile field

Question 14

If a surgeon is working deep within the peritoneal cavity,what is the best choice of sponge to hand up?

A)A Ray-Tec sponge
B)A laparotomy tape
C)A pattie
D)2 ´ 2 gauze sponge

Question 15

Which is a responsibility of the circulating nurse as the patient enters the room for a surgical procedure?

A)Ask the patient for insurance information.
B)Introduce yourself to patient.
C)Ask the patient to remove street clothes and place them under stretcher.
D)Ask patient to sign the consent form.

Question 16

When does the "timeout" occur during a surgical procedure?

A)After the incision has been made
B)While the patient is being intubated
C)Before the incision is made with the surgeon present in the room
D)When the patient is in PACU

Question 17

What level of movement of the upper extremity involves the opening of a peel-pack package?

A)Class 1
B)Class 2
C)Class 3
D)Class 4

Question 18

Which is a reason the instrument table and Mayo stand must remain sterile until the patient has left the room?

A)To ensure instruments remain sterile in case of hemorrhage
B)To increase turnover time
C)To ensure instruments have adequate time to dry
D)To adequately use the entire time allotted for the procedure

Question 19

Which is a piece of standard equipment needed for a surgical procedure that must be monitored throughout the procedure?

A)Electrosurgical unit (ESU)
B)Flat-screen computer
C)Document shredder
D)Steam sterilizer

Question 20

Where is an optimal location to place the dispersive electrode pad for use with an ESU?

A)Over scar tissue
B)Over a hairy area
C)Over a large muscle mass
D)Over a bony prominence

Question 21

Small sutures do not need to be accounted for at the end of a procedure because they probably will not show up on a radiograph if the suture count is not correct.

Question 22

Once the initial skin incision has been made,the scalpel must be removed from the field to avoid injuring the patient or a surgical team member.

Question 23

The two best ways to load a knife blade onto a handle are by using a heavy needle holder or simply by hand.

Question 24

If the countable items count results in an incorrect count,the circulating nurse is responsible only for informing the surgeon.

Question 25

The circulating nurse must remain at the patient's side during the induction of general anesthesia.

Question 26

If a sterile towel is used to pack a wound during a case for use as a retractor,the circulating nurse does not have to be told because it is not radiographically detectable and it is not a countable item.

Question 27

The splash basin is a popular item used during the case to hold fluids for washing powder off the surgical team's gloves and also to hold irrigation fluid that will be used to irrigate the surgical wound.

Question 28

The paper band on a pack of x-ray detectable laparotomy tapes or sponges should not be broken after they are counted.

Question 29

A minimum of two people is needed to transfer an anesthetized patient from the OR table to the stretcher using a roller device.

Question 30

Counted sharps must not be taken from the OR during the surgical procedure.

Question 31

Sponges and tapes that have been counted and bagged can be tied and thrown into the trash and removed from the room after being bagged.

Question 32

The nurse should anticipate the needs of the surgeon and try to stay one step ahead.

Question 33

The temperature of irrigation solution should be between 110° F and 115° F so that the patient's tissues will not be burned.

Question 34

Who is responsible for doing the initial count?

A)Circulating nurse
B)Anesthesia provider
C)Sterile processing staff
D)Surgeon

Question 35

It is acceptable to open sterile supplies into a rigid container because all the edges are sterile.

Question 36

As a sterile team member draping an unsterile table with a separate drape,you would unfold the drape outward toward the opposite side away from yourself first,then toward yourself.

Question 37

A scrub person should not gown and glove from the main field,but rather use a separate surface to place an open gown and gloves after scrubbing.

Question 38

Instrument counts are recommended for all surgical procedures.

Question 39

When draping the patient,it is acceptable to hand the surgeon hand towels and clips over the patient.

Question 40

The surgeon and assistants should never take their towels from the primary sterile field.

Question 41

When packs or sets have been wrapped with double wrappers,the outer wrap is considered the ____________________,and the inner wrap is considered the ____________________.

Question 42

The _______________ help the scrub person and circulating nurse improve efficiency of the set-up procedure and case flow.