apply their products —
Dr. Trivedi says staff
might not understand
the science behind
prepping and why you
need to apply products
in exact accordance
with instructions for
use. For example, you
must apply CHG preps
in a multidirectional
method so the positive-
ly charged CHG bonds
with the negatively
charged microbial cell
membrane of the skin
and penetrates the first
5 layers of the epider-
mis, says Ms. Hasnain.
4. Prepare for
pushback
One challenge the
leaders at UT
Southwestern faced was trying to convince surgical teams that there
were gaps in their practices and serious work needed to be done to
fill them, says Dr. Trivedi. Staff members asked: Where's the data
showing our prepping practices aren't effective? What's the science
behind the preps' instructions for use? Why do we need to change
how we've always prepped skin?
J U L Y 2 0 1 9 • O U T PA T I E N T S U R G E R Y. N E T • 7 1
Pamela
Bevelhymer,
RN,
BSN,
CNOR
• HANDS ON Understand the barriers to proper prepping your staff faces and pro-
vide consistent teaching of required application techniques.
