Maintaining Standard Precautions and Sterilizing Equipment

Step-by-Step Procedure

1. 1

   Perform hand hygiene before and after every patient contact, and before/after glove use — gloves are not a substitute for hand hygiene.

2. 2

   Select PPE appropriate to the task: gloves for any contact with blood or body fluids, with a mask, gown, or face shield added based on the expected exposure risk.

3. 3

   After a procedure, separate reusable instruments by contamination level and pre-clean (rinse/scrub) them before sterilization — items cannot be effectively sterilized with visible debris still on them.

4. 4

   Load the autoclave correctly (proper spacing for steam penetration, pouches oriented per manufacturer instructions) rather than packing it as full as possible.

5. 5

   Run the correct cycle (time, temperature, pressure) for the load and instrument type, and verify the cycle completed successfully using the autoclave's indicators.

6. 6

   Use biological indicators on the schedule your office protocol requires (commonly weekly) to confirm the autoclave is actually achieving sterilization, not just running a cycle.

7. 7

   Store sterilized instruments in their sealed pouches, checking expiration/integrity dates before use, and discard anything with a torn or compromised seal.

Quality Checkpoints

• ✓

  Hand hygiene happens before AND after every patient contact and every glove use — not glove use in place of hand hygiene.

• ✓

  Instruments are pre-cleaned of visible debris before being loaded for sterilization.

• ✓

  The autoclave load is spaced correctly, not overpacked, so steam can reach every surface.

• ✓

  Biological indicator testing is done on schedule and the results are documented, not assumed.

Common Mistakes

• ⚠

  Treating gloves as a replacement for hand hygiene instead of an addition to it.

• ⚠

  Overpacking the autoclave to get through instruments faster, which can prevent proper steam penetration and leave items under-sterilized.

• ⚠

  Skipping biological indicator testing because "the autoclave has always worked fine" — equipment failure isn't always obvious from the outside.

• ⚠

  Using a sterilized pouch with a torn seal because the instrument "looks clean," instead of discarding it and reprocessing.

On-the-Job Tips

• →

  Build hand hygiene into the physical motion of entering and leaving a room — tying it to a location, not just a mental reminder, makes it automatic.

• →

  Keep a visible log of biological indicator results — if your office can't immediately show when the autoclave was last verified, that's worth flagging, not assuming is fine.

More on This Task