Question

A patient care technician is preparing to clean metal instruments that were used to remove the staples from a patients surgical wound. Which of the following actions should the technician take to destroy micro-organisms and spores on the metal instruments?

A) rinse the instruments under hot tap water for 30 seconds
B) scrub the instruments with a bactericidal solution and let them air dry
C) Place the instruments in an autoclave and stream them under pressure or moist heat
D) soak the instruments in an iodine solution for 30min before singing them with sterile water.

Answer 1

The patient care technician should place the used metal instruments in an autoclave for sterilization, as this method is most effective for destroying all micro-organisms and spores compared to other cleaning methods.

Step-by-step explanation:

A patient care technician responsible for cleaning metal instruments used in medical procedures should seek to achieve sterilization, which is the complete removal or killing of all vegetative cells, endospores, and viruses from the items. The correct action to take for destroying micro-organisms and spores on the metal instruments is to place them in an autoclave. This method uses steam under pressure or moist heat, which is effective in penetrating cells and thus ensures the thorough sterilization of the instruments compared to other methods like rinsing with hot water, using a bactericidal solution, or soaking in an iodine solution. To maintain aseptic technique, which is crucial in preventing contamination, items such as pipettes, culture tubes, and metal instruments should be sterilized before use, with methods like direct heat or moist heat protocols, such as autoclaving.