Editing Nursing Skills and Procedures – LPN Practice Questions (section)

==Question 2==
A licensed practical nurse is setting up a sterile field for a dressing change. Which action indicates the need for correction?
# The nurse holds sterile items above waist level.
# The nurse considers the outer 1 inch border of the field contaminated.
# The nurse reaches across the sterile field to place a gauze pad on the far side.
# The nurse opens the outermost flap of a sterile package away from the body.

'''Answer:''' 3 (C). The nurse reaches across the sterile field to place a gauze pad on the far side.

''Rationale:'' Reaching over a sterile field contaminates it, because skin scales and organisms fall onto the field. The nurse moves around the field instead. Options 1, 2, and 4 are all correct sterile technique: sterile items stay above the waist and in view, the 1 inch border is treated as contaminated, and the first flap of a package is opened away from the body so the nurse never reaches over the contents.