5 2 S U P P L E M E N T T O 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 M A Y 2 0 1 7
area per applicator size. To demonstrate to our nurses how much surface area
one stick of prep will cover, reps showed our team a laminated square that a
single stick could cover. If the area you're prepping is larger — or if the patient
is obese — you'll need a second stick to adequately cover that surface area. To
illustrate when it would
be appropriate to use a
smaller prepping stick,
the flip side of the card
showed a smaller sur-
face, as if you're prep-
ping for a head and neck
procedure. The lesson
here: Don't let excess
prep pool, and use tuck
towels to catch excess
prep.
Learning is good, but
doing is better. Our nurs-
es used their finger to
simulate a prep on our
vendor's iPad app. That
really gave them the feel
for good technique.
When new nurses come
on board, they go through
an internship program
and get the same in-ser-
vice/orientation to prep-
ping. We also reinforce
proper technique during
If you see a nurse wearing a pink gown in our ORs,
you know she's there for one reason: to prep the
patient. Wearing a different colored gown than what
the surgical team wears signals that a critical
process is at hand and that the people prepping are
not members of the sterile field. The sterile pink
gown also helps us prevent infection, as it fully cov-
ers the nurse's arms during the prep so that squa-
mous epithelial cells do not fall into the sterile field.
Brittany N. Harvey, MBA, MSN, RN
West Virginia University Hospitals
Morgantown, W.V.
harveybri@wvumedicine.org
PREP IN PROGRESS
Nurses Wear Pink Gowns to Prep Patients
• PREPPING IN PINK The gowns signal that a critical proces is occurring.
Brittany
Harvey,
MBA,
MSN,
RN
