Surgery Support Volunteer Training

HSHV

SURGERY SUPPORT VOLUNTEER TRAINING

Overview of Today

Tour of clinic

Expectations

Roles and responsibilities

Clinic/Volunteer schedule

Hands-on Building of Surgery

Packs, Linen Folding

1

Expectations

Be comfortable with and respectful of tough decisions that will

be made by HSHV staff. Euthanasia will be a part of this

environment.

Be able to be around surgery and blood. Faint of heart need

not apply.

Be willing to commit to a regular schedule

to provide consistent support to the team.

Be mindful of your environment. Use “indoor”

voices for conversations, give staff space to work, especially during a difficult or complicated surgery or recovery.

Schedule of Volunteering Times

Weekdays (occasional weekend, based on need)

Monday – Friday- 1 volunteer per shift

11:00am-1:00pm – most popular shift

2:00pm-4:00pm

Can commit to a specific day/time each week to

provide consistent support for surgical team. Or

select days as open

Roles and Responsibilities

Role: Be the eyes of the clinic, see what jobs need to be done…do them!

Primary responsibilities include:

Cleaning cages after the animals have been moved*

Take out trash in dog and cat recovery rooms

Laundry

Popping syringes*

Making surgery packs/fold drapes and wraps

Washing/organizing instruments, mask, etc.

*depends on shift

Roles and Responsibilities

• Shelves are marked for

ease of putting clean

laundry away.

New towels can also

go in basket under

table in center of

room on prep side

Remove all dirty

laundry as needed.

Tips for Success:

• Before entering clinic for shift, stop by

Laundry for any clinic laundry and pick up

some large towels. They’re always needed

in clinic, cat & dog recovery. Small blue &

green towels are in cabinet under counter

with instruments. When finished, they go in

Clinic Laundry.

• Stock towels/blankets in recovery/surgery

area shelves.

• Use the hallway entrance to gain

access to this area- avoid walking

through surgery to prevent

contamination of this sterile

environment

•Use quiet voices around animals recovering.

Daily Tasks- In order

Daily Task #1- Recovery Rooms

Maintain cleanliness in cages:

Observe animals as they recover in the

rooms and report any animals to

technicians who are not recovering well

Restock supplies such as towels,

paper towels, refill disinfectant

spray bottles, bowls, litter, etc.

Empty laundry bins (also in hall)

Garbage removal as needed

Most Important

Daily Tasks cont’d.…

Daily Task #2- Surgical Packs &

Sterile Equipment

Folding drapes and wraps

Clinic laundry transfer as needed

Organizing surgical instruments

Washing instruments, masks,

endotracheal tubes, and dental

equipment

Wrapping packs and individual

instruments

Daily Tasks cont’d.…

Daily Task #3: When all

the other tasks are done, you can…

Sweep the floors

Replenish supplies

Paper & bath towels

Fill Accel bottles

1. Door can be found in the hallway.

2. Set the concentration amount

(match the bottle color on the neck).

3. Use these tubes to fill bottles.

Washing Instruments - How To!

1. Scrub each instrument in the

sink on the right, with a brush,

removing all debris- blood,

tissue, etc.

3. Once all instruments

are in Ultrasonic Cleaner,

cover and set timer for 10

minutes.

2. Place cleaned, UNLOCKED

instruments into Ultrasonic

Cleaner.

Note: Staff will fill both tub in sinks and

Ultrasonic Cleaner with proper

concentration of cleaning solution.


5. After distilled water bath, place instruments

(only) into instrument milk & let set for one

minute (look at clock).

6. Lay instruments out to dry, opened

on a clean towel. You may help drying

by patting with a towel.

4. After instruments are

done in Ultrasonic cleaner,

dunk instruments and

basked right into distilled

water bath


7. After they are completely dry, place

unlocked instruments into their

appropriate bins. Razor and Clipper

Blades can be put in the blue misc bin

for staff to put away.

8. Black Velcro Strips come in

small and large sizes. After

they are finished drying,

attach them to the wall according to size.

Velcro Strap Attached

to mask

Washing Instruments – DentalDental Instruments do not need a “milk bath.” After the ultrasonic

cleaner, hand dry with blue towel and put away.

Drawer for the

dental instruments

can be found at

the “wet table.”

Dental instruments

can be identified by

the green band

around the handles.

See note on top of

page.

Inside the “wet

table” drawer

where clean

dental

instruments are

stored.

Laundry


Instruments in the Left Sink :

Wash items in the left sink

with a clean non-abrasive

sponge (masks,

endotracheal tubes, etc.)

Rinse items thoroughly and

air dry on a clean towel or

hang to dry above sink.

Folding Surgical Packs - How To!

The Final Product

3. Select the instruments to be wrapped-

Surgery Packs Document for list of items.

Read carefully & watch for changes

2. Place the “steri” onto

the gauze

1. Open a blue, green, or tan wrap and

place gauze in the center. IMPORTANT:

make sure there are ONLY 6 gauze pieces!

Exception: Large

dog spay has 12

gauze pieces


5. Stack hemostats and

carmalt on top of each

other (largest on bottom

and smallest on top)

4. Place spay hook &

forceps on top of your 6

gauze pieces.


7. Cover with one

drape

6. continued…view

from side6. Place stack on top of

gauze, (view from top)


8. Fold from bottom up: Bring in tightly

(but not so tight the instruments break

through the material)

10. Bring the left side up,

continuing to keep the material

taught, and fold back half-way

9. Fold back (accordion) any

extra material from the first fold

11. Now, fold the right side

the same as in step 10


12. Rotate pack and make final fold

from bottom up

14. Last step: Folded pack should be

secured. Add a section of tape and write on

the tape the current date and the code for

that surgical pack, and your initials. Make a

little tab for the vet to grab!

13. Tuck extra material into the top pocket of the pack, keeping corner tab exposed. The pack should remain very taught the whole time.

15. You are done!

Place on top of autoclave,

avoiding vent.

Folding Surgical Linens - How To!

1. Lay surgical drape out flat.

2. Fold the material in a

accordion style fashion-

the long side of the drape

Instead of folding

from the middle,

begin fan- folding

from the edge.

Folding Surgical Linens - How To!

3. Fold in half, from

right to left

5. Flip and

fold the

other side

back

4. Fold the top back in

half again, from left to

right

6. Final product!

These are the packs we will

add to the surgery packs

Proper Use of Rescue (formerly Accel)

See Handout: Clinic Cleaning

Procedures

It is important to know and to follow the

cleaning procedures for the following:

Types of Rescue/Supplies Needed

Recovery Cage Cleaning – Cats & Dogs

Instrument Cleaning Order, as of 5/13/15

(Posted on wall above sink)

High Suds

Rinse with tap water

Ultrasonic (10 minutes)

Distilled dunk

Milk (1 minute)

Dry

Small blue & green towels are in a

cabinet under the counter with

instruments. They go in clinic

laundry when you are finished with

them.

Documents

Surgery Support Volunteer Training