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SELF/Perioperative Nursing/Count Maintenance During Surgery Quiz

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▼This page is a part of the Perioperative Nursing Curriculum by ECSACONM and SELFPlease see the Intuitive Foundation Terms of Use and do not edit without permission.

Use the quiz below to check your understanding of the material.

Instructions

Work through each question carefully to choose the best answer, and submit the quiz to view your results. After completing the quiz, read through the answer explanations to review the reasoning behind both correct and incorrect options.

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1

During surgery, an additional packet of laparotomy sponges is opened. What should occur before the sponges are used?

The scrub nurse places the sponges on the sterile field and the count is updated during the next scheduled count
The circulating nurse records the sponges after skin closure
The circulating nurse announces the addition, both nurses verify and count the sponges, and the count record is updated immediately
The surgeon confirms the number of sponges before they are used

2

Why are intraoperative counts performed at designated milestones?

To replace the need for the final count
To confirm that count integrity has been maintained before the procedure progresses
To verify instrument function during surgery
To reconcile equipment with the sterile processing department

3

Which practice best maintains count integrity throughout surgery?

Recording changes at the end of the procedure to reduce interruptions
Returning used sponges directly to general waste after use
Waiting until the next scheduled count before documenting newly opened items
Documenting every count change immediately and maintaining continuous awareness of countable items

4

A scrub nurse discovers that a used needle has been left on the Mayo stand instead of being returned to the sharps counter. Why is this a concern?

It increases the risk of losing track of the needle and contributes to potential count discrepancies
It makes the Mayo stand more difficult to clean after surgery
It delays wound closure
It prevents additional sharps from being opened

5

During surgery, an interruption occurs while additional instruments are being opened. What is the safest approach?

Continue using the instruments and update the documentation later
Resume from memory after the interruption
Wait until the final count to reconcile the additional instruments
Ensure the additional instruments are jointly counted and documented before use, repeating the affected count if uncertainty exists

6

During a procedure, a scalpel blade is removed from the handle, placed into the designated sharps container, and permanently removed from the sterile field. What should the scrub nurse and circulating nurse do next?

Wait until the next scheduled intraoperative count before updating the record
Assume the blade no longer needs to be tracked because it has been discarded safely
Jointly verify that the blade has been removed, update the count documentation immediately, and continue tracking the remaining countable items
Record the blade only during the final count before wound closure

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Page data
Part of Setting Up the Operating Room - ECSACONM
Keywords surgery, health
SDG SDG03 Good health and well-being
Authors Ian-laurel
License CC-BY-SA-4.0
Organizations ECSACONM, SELF
Language English (en)
Related 0 subpages, 1 pages link here
Views 0 page views (analytics)
Created July 13, 2026 by 2600:387:C:6A1B:0:0:0:4
Last edit July 13, 2026 by StandardWikitext bot
Cite as "SELF/Perioperative Nursing/Count Maintenance During Surgery Quiz". Appropedia. 2026. Retrieved July 15, 2026.
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