keep me vigilant about personal protection during every case.
5
Clean up carefully
Risks of sharps injuries do not go away when the case is over,
as mishaps can occur during clean-up and room turnover.
Always look before disposing of items in a sharps container, because
getting stuck by over-
flowing items can
occur. Most staffers
who are stuck while
disposing of sharps
will admit they
weren't looking while
placing the items in
the container. If a con-
tainer is three-quar-
ters full, change it out.
That's basic common
sense and common
courtesy. Don't wait
for someone else to
do it — take the
responsibility to pro-
tect yourself and your
colleagues. OSM
8 9
A P R I L 2 0 1 5 | O U T P A T I E N T S U R G E R Y . N E T
Ms. Alexander (sherri.alexan-
der@franciscanalliance.org) is
the manager of central sterile
processing and perioperative
services at Franciscan St. Francis
Health in Indianapolis, Ind., and
past president of the Association
of Surgical Technologists.