Instruments and Supplies for Instrument Handling and Maintaining the Sterile Field
[edit | edit source]The learner should gather the following equipment, instruments, and supplies before practice or beginning the examination. Most individual surgical instruments should be obtained from the general laparotomy set. The exact instrument may vary according to the locally available instrument set; acceptable alternatives are listed below.
| Item
|
Purpose / Notes
|
| Operating table
|
Represents the patient and operative field.
|
| Back table
|
Main "sterile" instrument table.
|
| Back-table drape
|
Appropriate size for the available back table, does not need to be sterile for practice or exam.
|
| Mayo stand
|
Working instrument surface positioned over the patient's feet.
|
| Mayo stand cover/drape
|
Appropriate for the available Mayo stand, does not need to be sterile for practice or exam.
|
| Basin or second Mayo stand
|
Clearly separated location for contaminated instruments that will not be returned to the sterile field.
|
| Basin(s)
|
Used for instrument cleaning and wet items as appropriate to local practice.
|
| Item
|
Purpose / Notes
|
| General laparotomy set
|
Standard locally available laparotomy set. This should provide most of the individual instruments required below.
|
| Skill / Instrument Type
|
Preferred Instrument
|
Common Alternatives
|
| Scalpel
|
Scalpel handle with #10 blade
|
#3 or #4 handle with any appropriate blade
|
| Ring-handled clamp
|
Kelly or Crile clamp
|
Mosquito, Rochester-Pean, Kocher/Ochsner, or similar clamp
|
| Tissue/thumb forceps
|
DeBakey or Adson forceps
|
Plain/dressing forceps, toothed tissue forceps, Russian forceps
|
| Scissors
|
Metzenbaum scissors
|
Straight or curved Mayo scissors
|
| Needle holder
|
Mayo-Hegar needle holder
|
Other ring-handled needle holder commonly found in the laparotomy set
|
| Needle and suture
|
1-0 or 2-0 Curved surgical needle with suture
|
Any appropriate curved needle and suture that is readily visible to the learner and evaluator
|
| Sponge stick
|
Foerster/ring sponge forceps with gauze sponge
|
Rampley or similar sponge-holding forceps
|
| Hand-held retractor
|
Richardson retractor
|
Deaver, Army-Navy, Morris, or similar hand-held abdominal retractor
|
| Suction
|
Yankauer suction
|
Poole suction or other commonly used laparotomy suction
|
| ESU pencil
|
Standard ESU pencil
|
Hand-switch or foot-switch pencil
|
| Item
|
Purpose / Notes
|
| Scalpel handle and blade
|
Used to demonstrate scalpel passing and receiving.
|
| Kidney dish
|
Used for the alternate scalpel pass and for receiving the scalpel without hand-to-hand transfer.
|
| Item
|
Purpose / Notes
|
| Needle holder
|
Used for passing and receiving a loaded needle holder.
|
| Curved surgical needle with suture
|
Used to assess safe orientation and handling of the needle.
|
| Additional needle and suture
|
Allows the exercise to be reset or repeated between candidates if necessary.
|
| Item
|
Purpose / Notes
|
| Sponge-holding forceps
|
Foerster, Rampley, or equivalent.
|
| Gauze sponge/swab
|
Appropriate size to be held securely in the sponge forceps.
|
| Item
|
Purpose / Notes
|
| Yankauer or Poole suction
|
Used to assess passing, receiving, and management of a tubing-attached instrument.
|
| Suction tubing
|
Should be long enough to require realistic tubing management.
|
| Suction source
|
May be functional or simulated if actual suction is not required for the examination.
|
| Item
|
Purpose / Notes
|
| ESU pencil
|
Used to assess passing and receiving a cabled instrument.
|
| ESU cable
|
Should be long enough to require realistic cable management.
|
| ESU unit or simulated connection point
|
The ESU does not need to be energized for this skills assessment.
|
| Item
|
Purpose / Notes
|
| Sterile gauze/swabs
|
Used for wiping instruments before returning them to the organized sterile field.
|
| Sterile water or locally used instrument-moistening solution
|
Used if appropriate to local practice.
|
| Small sterile bowl or basin
|
Holds the cleaning/moistening solution.
|
| Item
|
Purpose / Notes
|
| Designated sharps area/container on the sterile field
|
Provides a consistent safe location for needles and other sharps during the procedure.
|
| Final sharps disposal container
|
Used for safe sharps disposal during post-procedure breakdown.
|
| Item
|
Purpose / Notes
|
| Basin or second Mayo stand
|
Positioned separately from the sterile field and designated for contaminated instruments that must not be returned to the sterile field.
|
| Instrument for simulated contamination
|
An instrument already being used in the examination may be used. The evaluator declares the instrument contaminated and observes how the learner isolates it.
|
The contaminated-instrument location should be clearly separated from the continuing sterile field. A special "contaminated" instrument is not required. For example, after a clamp has been passed and returned, the evaluator may state, "This clamp has become contaminated." The learner must then demonstrate appropriate handling and sequestration of the instrument.
| Item
|
Purpose / Notes
|
| Waste receptacle
|
Used for simulated post-procedure field breakdown.
|
| Instrument receiving basin/container
|
Receives instruments after completion of the procedure.
|
Minimum Individual Instruments to Confirm Before Starting
[edit | edit source]Although these instruments will normally already be present in the general laparotomy set, the learner should confirm the presence of at least:
- 1 scalpel handle with blade
- 1 ring-handled clamp
- 1 tissue/thumb forceps
- 1 pair of scissors
- 1 needle holder
- 1 curved needle with suture
- 1 sponge-holding forceps
- 1 hand-held retractor
The following additional items should also be available:
- Kidney dish
- Gauze sponge for the sponge stick
- Suction tip and tubing
- ESU pencil and cable
- Sterile gauze/swabs for instrument cleaning
- Cleaning basin and appropriate solution
- Designated sharps area/container
- Final sharps disposal container
- Basin or second Mayo stand for contaminated instruments
- Supplies required for the simulated final count and field breakdown
Page data
| Keywords |
surgery, health |
| SDG |
SDG03 Good health and well-being |
| Authors |
Ian-laurel |
| License |
CC-BY-SA-4.0 |
| Organizations |
SELF, ECSACONM |
| Language |
English (en) |
| Related |
0 subpages, 0 pages link here |
| Views |
14 page views (analytics) |
| Created |
September 11, 2026 by 2601:647:4100:D600:ECE4:8A58:AA16:2C9C |
| Last edit |
September 27, 2026 by GSTC |
| Cite as |
Patrickdiamond (2026). "SELF/Perioperative Nursing/Instrument Handling and Maintaining Sterile Field/Instruments and Supplies". Appropedia. Retrieved October 3, 2026. |
| API queries |
basic, semantic, html, files, more |
