Sterile Processing Daily Question
Past questions
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Question 1 · Patient Care Equipment and DistributionHow should clean patient care equipment be delivered to nursing units?
- A. On the same cart used to collect soiled equipment, without cleaning the cart
- B. Covered and tagged as clean, kept apart from soiled items during transport
- C. Uncovered and untagged, so it can be used right away
- D. Left in the hallway for the unit to pick up when needed
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B. Covered and tagged as clean, kept apart from soiled items during transportCovering protects the equipment from dust and contact, the tag shows it is ready for use, and separation prevents cross-contamination.
Why should patient care equipment be inspected after cleaning?
- A. To decide which patient will use the equipment next after it leaves the department
- B. To confirm it is clean, intact and working
- C. To sterilize it
- D. To change its color
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B. To confirm it is clean, intact and workingInspection finds residual soil and damage.
An infusion pump is returned after it may have malfunctioned during a patient incident. What should be done?
- A. Keep it as found, tag it out of service, and notify biomedical engineering and risk management without cleaning or resetting it
- B. Clean it right away and return it to service
- C. Reset it to factory settings and test it
- D. Throw it away to prevent further use
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A. Keep it as found, tag it out of service, and notify biomedical engineering and risk management without cleaning or resetting itKeeping the device and its settings as found lets the facility investigate and report the event. Cleaning or resetting it could erase evidence.
In which order should patient care equipment be wiped during cleaning?
- A. From the dirtiest area to the cleanest area
- B. From cleaner areas to dirtier areas, and from top to bottom
- C. From the bottom to the top
- D. In any order, as long as one wipe is used for the whole item
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B. From cleaner areas to dirtier areas, and from top to bottomWorking from clean to dirty and from top to bottom keeps soil from being spread onto surfaces that are already clean.
A technician finds a patient care pump in a hallway with no clean tag on it. What should be done?
- A. Assume it is clean because it is in a hallway
- B. Put a clean tag on it and deliver it to a unit
- C. Treat it as soiled and return it for cleaning
- D. Leave it there for its owner to collect
Show the answer
C. Treat it as soiled and return it for cleaningWithout a clean tag, there is no way to know if the item was cleaned, so it is treated as soiled.
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