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O U T PAT 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 | January 2015
I
n many facilities, a mental and physical
disconnect exists between staffs in the
central sterile department and ORs.
There's also an underlying tension
between the groups. One side wants
instruments back into surgeons' hands as
quickly as possible, while the other's pri-
mary focus is ensuring instruments are
safe for use when they get there.
OR team members who want instru-
ments returned in a matter of minutes
often don't understand that proper decont-
amination and sterilization takes time.
Central sterile techs have specific rules they
need to follow when handling each instrument set. Asking them to deviate from
those guidelines is asking them to do their jobs incorrectly.
Central sterile personnel need to understand the importance of cleaning instru-
ments properly before each and every sterilization cycle, and what's at stake if
they don't. Your surgical and sterile processing teams need to value their contri-
butions to the overall success of your facility. If central sterile goes offline, surger-
ies literally grind to a halt.
We need to promote and embrace a team concept in instrument cleaning decontami-
nation. Right now, many facilities have failed to find common ground. Cooperation
between central sterile and perioperative professionals needs to be developed and cele-
brated. Until more facilities make that synergy a reality, we'll continue to see post-op
infection problems related to improper instrument reprocessing.
— Mary A. Hillanbrand, DNP, RN, CNOR, CCNS, CNS-CP
TEaM BuILDInG
Bridging the Divide Between ORs and Central Sterile
zZOOM OUTPersonnel who work in central
sterile might not understand the big-picture
importance of instrument reprocessing.
Pamela
Bevelhymer,
RN,
BSN
