When maintaining a sterile field, what are common misconceptions or errors made concerning instrumentation?
“I often see heavy trays – not contained in a rigid container, but wrapped with a sterile wrap – picked up, put on a ring stand and opened. They are not held up and inspected for minute tears or breaches of sterility in that regard. It’s often hard to do – you have small circulators or scrub nurses, the trays are heavy, and they just don’t take that extra 10 seconds to lift them up and see: Are there any tears on the corners of this tray? Can I still use this tray? If it hasn’t been inspected, then the whole set has to be considered contaminated.” – TPR “Some people look at the outside of the pack, and just because the color of the indicator tape has changed, they assume that it’s sterile, when in fact it’s not. The tape is merely an indication that it has been through some type of heat process. The only way to truly tell is by the indicator inside the tray.” – TPR “One misconception involves transporting instruments from an autoclave. The autoclave may be in an open hallway; the scrub
