goes on during passing depends on the experience of the surgeon and
his assistants. Pairings that have worked together for years may not
have to alert each other about sharps entering and leaving the field.
The bottom line: Develop a system that works for your surgical teams,
agree on where and how instruments will be passed before each case,
and stick to the protocol during every sharps exchange.
4
Pay attention
Sounds simple, doesn't it? It is, but I've seen many surgical
assistants try to do more than one thing at a time, lose focus
and take their eyes off of the sharp being passed. Surgeons and surgi-
cal assistants are at the highest risk of sticks and cuts, and it's hard to
predict what causes sharps injuries, but most often it involves some-
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O U T P A T I E N T S U R G E R Y M A G A Z I N E O N L I N E | A P R I L 2 0 1 5
S
yringes are often
used intraoperative-
ly to inject local
anesthetic at the surgical
site. Best practice is to
avoid recapping the nee-
dles between uses by plac-
ing syringes in basins on
the back table, where
they're kept safely until
needed again. Try this if
you do have to recap a
needle: Touch its bevel to the inside of the cap and scoop the cap onto the needle before
pushing it securely into place. Never attempt to hold the cap in one hand and place the
needle in it with the other.
— Sherri Alexander, CST, FAST, CRCST
NEEDLE RECAPPING
Master the Single-Handed Scoop