Patient Care & Safety Flashcards
7 cards from real CST practice questions. Tap to flip, then mark Knew It or Still Learning — missed cards come back until you master them.
Read the first 7 Patient Care & Safety flashcards as text
Which type of fire extinguisher is recommended for use on an OR fire involving electrical equipment?
Answer: Class C (CO2 or dry chemical)
Class C extinguishers use CO2 or dry chemical agents that are non-conductive, making them safe for electrical fires in the OR.
A patient is transferred to the OR table and the safety strap is applied. Where is the strap correctly placed?
Answer: Approximately 2 inches above the knees
The safety strap is placed approximately 2 inches above the knees to secure the patient without restricting circulation or causing pressure injury.
When counting instruments, sponges, and sharps at the close of a procedure, who is responsible for initiating and documenting the final count?
Answer: Scrub technologist and circulating nurse
The scrub technologist and circulating nurse both participate in and are accountable for all counts, which must be documented by the circulator.
What does the term 'wrong-site surgery' most commonly involve?
Answer: Performing surgery on the wrong patient, wrong side, or wrong level
Wrong-site surgery encompasses operating on the wrong patient, wrong anatomic side, or wrong spinal level — all preventable by the Universal Protocol.
Which action by the surgical technologist helps prevent deep vein thrombosis (DVT) in surgical patients?
Answer: Ensuring sequential compression devices (SCDs) are applied before induction
SCDs applied before anesthesia induction promote venous return and reduce DVT risk by mechanically compressing the lower extremities.
A sterile field is established and a non-scrubbed team member reaches over the sterile field. What should the surgical technologist do?
Answer: Verbally correct the breach and consider the field contaminated
Reaching over a sterile field is a breach of sterile technique; the technologist must speak up immediately and the field must be treated as contaminated.
Which radiographic protection principle requires the surgical team to maintain maximum distance from the X-ray source during intraoperative fluoroscopy?
Answer: Distance principle
The distance principle states that radiation exposure decreases by the inverse square of the distance — doubling distance reduces exposure by 75%.