Final answer:
Pharmacists must ensure that sterile products are available continuously; sterilization is vital to prevent contamination and sepsis in medical settings; autoclaves are commonly used for sterilizing medical items and maintaining a sterile environment.
Step-by-step explanation:
The pharmacist in charge (or another pharmacist designated by the pharmacist in charge) must ensure that sterile products can be supplied on a continuous basis. Sterile products are imperative in medical procedures to prevent the risk of contamination and sepsis. This is why pharmacists must ensure the availability of these products at all times. Sterilization is a crucial process that eliminates all forms of microbial life including bacteria, viruses, spores, and fungi.
Common methods of sterilization include the use of autoclaves, where instruments are exposed to high-pressure steam at a specific temperature for a set period. an example, during surgery, all instruments, surgical gloves, and the area operated on need to be sterilized to maintain a sterile field. An autoclave is an essential device used to perform this task efficiently, as depicted by the image credit of Martha Cooper, showing the sterilization of a sample with this equipment.