Sterile gloves for sterile spec???

[JaneyW]

I was taught and have always used sterile gloves when doing a sterile spec exam. I am now at a teaching hospital and the residents do them instead of us. I was assisting a resident and offered him sterile gloves to which he replied that they weren't necessary and proceeded to do the exam with clean gloves including spreading the labia before insertion of speculum. He is a third year. He had a few to me questionable clinical skills type things during my shift, but seemed to be basically pretty good.

Am I being too picky/anal??? What do you guys see/do? How about you at the teaching hospitals--is this new??

[SmilingBluEyes]

Sterile gloves are required for a sterile spec exam. That has not changed.

[babyktchr, BSN, RN]

What is the point of using a sterile speculum if you don't keep sterile yourself? There are times spec exams are not sterile. At our hosptial, we don't have non sterile specs, so we use sterile ones all of the time. Is that what is maybe happening at your facility?

[mugwump]

most of the docs at my hospital a tertiary non-teaching facility just use regular gloves not sterile.

[JAHJF]

Large teaching hospital-all residents use sterile gloves for all sterile spec exams

[wannabeL&D73]

You know what, I would be really pissed if I were pg. and some dr. introduced infection. I think that is irresponsible.

Shannon

[USA987, MSN, RN, NP]

Community hospital...sterile gloves.

[mugwump]

I asked the docs about this once and their reply was it is truely not a sterile procedure it is a clean procedure. Do we betadine the area before introducing the steril spec no, we are using a steril instrament and pushing the bacteria on the outer labia into the cervix. Not that i agree I use sterile gloves but thats what i was told.

[estrogen]

I'm not and never have been a GYN nurse, so please could someone explain this to me? The lady partsl cannal in it self is not sterile, so what's the point of using a sterile spec? I mean doesn't it become unsterile the instance it passes through the cannal?

[USA987, MSN, RN, NP]

I'm not and never have been a GYN nurse, so please could someone explain this to me? The lady partsl cannal in it self is not sterile, so what's the point of using a sterile spec? I'm mean doesn't it become unsterile the instance it passes through the cannal?

True, I suppose, but I would assume that it's part of the pts. normal flora. Who knows what's on non-sterile gloves.

Just like there is evidence that an increased number of lady partsl exams increases risk of infection during the labor process

[RNKitty]

Hmm. Never really though of it, but yes - you could maintain sterile technique if the blades of the speculum are never touched by the gloves. My left hand always separates the labia, so it becomes contaminated. I just want to introduce the fewest microbes possible into the lady partsl canal. It would be cheaper for the doctors and the hospitals to use clean gloves instead of sterile. Hmmm.

Oh wait, I do try to warm the speculum up in my sterile gloved hands so it isn't so dang cold for the patient. Skip that idea.

[palesarah]

Oh wait, I do try to warm the speculum up in my sterile gloved hands so it isn't so dang cold for the patient. Skip that idea

We keep our sterile speculums in the blanket warmer. And I always wrap the outer package in a warm baby blanket so it stays warm until until the exam, since it takes a few minutes to walk back to the room and gather my supplies. But in reference to the OP, yes, we also use sterile gloves.