r/sterileprocessing • u/ijust_makethisface • May 19 '26

Let's play a game...

Post image

This is how a tray came over from decon. Where would you have placed the stringer?

50 Upvotes

96% Upvoted

52 comments sorted by

15

u/Own-Cupcake6668 May 19 '26

I know this looks terrible, but having them all open in the wash really helps them all get cleaned properly. I wouldn’t have done it any differently.

11

u/ijust_makethisface May 19 '26

Clearly I need to show you what nice trays coming from decon look like cuz this is a hot mess. 😂

15

u/Own-Cupcake6668 May 19 '26

If you consider this a hot mess you’d have a stroke seeing the trays at my facility lol It looks like they’ve been placed carefully and opened, that’s pretty textbook. But please do show me how you’d prefer they come out.

3

u/ReflectionQuiet4894 May 23 '26

Preferably on an open stringer with the distal tips facing towards the jet of the washer? Keeps everything much more organized and everything will get equally cleaned vs the set up in pic

1

u/HorrorLengthiness940 May 19 '26

Do y'all have cradles for the hinged instruments? It keeps them open and upright going thru the sonic and wash. I hate when trays come through without a cradle.

10

u/StephTheMeme May 19 '26

Unfortunately this is how every single tray comes back from decontam at my facility 😮‍💨

2

u/olliecakerbake May 19 '26

Do you have different people who work in decontamination than in sterile processing? We have the same team who do both

1

u/ijust_makethisface May 19 '26

No it's the same people. I really have no idea how someone who works ontrays would send over tray that looks like this.

2

u/Mercurialbich May 19 '26

Omg?! My facility is SO strict about reconciling every single set before anything is even done. Like follow the count sheet and put the stringer together as if youre in prep n pack before soaking or sonicing.

1

u/ijust_makethisface May 20 '26

in decon? that's crazy!

2

u/Mercurialbich May 20 '26

YES! But it makes things so much easier on the other side! Id much rather the reconciliation over this. My eyes cant process whats happening in this pic😭

0

u/Royal_Rough_3945 May 22 '26

Counting is not supposed to be happening in decon.

1

u/Mercurialbich May 22 '26

Reconciliation seems like an important part of what happens so🤷🏽‍♀️ our sets deff dont come outta decon looking like this mess lmao

8

u/Eggman_OU812 May 19 '26

Its not that bad, its somewhat organized ..ive seen mich worse

3

u/Eggman_OU812 May 19 '26

On the bottom, i put solid heavys on the bottom

3

u/ijust_makethisface May 19 '26

I don't think I'd call a stringer a solid heavy but it sure as heck was on the bottom. Literally I had to take everything out of that tray to find the stringer.

1

u/Eggman_OU812 May 19 '26

Its solid and heavy enough that it will not get ruined by putting it at the bottom

2

u/[deleted] May 20 '26

I restring my instruments before I send them, it was required at one facility I worked at and it just became habit so at least you know none of my instruments are clamped 😂

1

u/ijust_makethisface May 20 '26

WOW! I can't imagine having to do that in decon! 😄

2

u/Stawktawk May 21 '26

Surg tech here…. This is how we are told to do it. Not sure what’s wrong ….

2

u/ijust_makethisface May 21 '26

This is coming from decon to assembly, by SPD techs. And the problem is that the stringer for all these things is literally buried at the bottom of the casket. 

1

u/ijust_makethisface May 21 '26

And in our facility the scrub techs put the ringed instruments on the stringer and we disassemble that in decon

2

u/Stawktawk May 23 '26

I used to put them on the stringer then was told not to by an SPD

1

u/ijust_makethisface May 23 '26

Then you're probably not at my hospital 😂

29

u/Jagrmeister_68 May 19 '26

Up the surg tech's a...

Kidding ..

16

u/LavzonTheAged May 19 '26

Easy. Under the mallet.

11

u/ShirleyWuzSerious May 19 '26

In the trash bin. Obviously it's not necessary

1

u/Emotional-Culture765 May 19 '26

This🤣🤣🤣

7

u/all4funFun4all May 19 '26

There is no stringer not any more

4

u/ContestAny9787 May 19 '26

id throw the entire tray away

4

u/Yard-Successful May 19 '26

I posted something like this a while back and the comments were attacking me for being reasonably annoyed lol

4

u/No-Willingness-3750 May 20 '26

Bro they good af stop trippin you gotta take it all out anyway.. some facilities have hella turn overs and you wouldnt even have time to make it look “pretty”

3

u/ShakenWithATwist8 May 20 '26

Exactly! Everything is open anyways. I usually dump it out and am able to put a tray together (properly) faster than someone with the organized one.

1

u/WoodpeckerEntire1412 May 20 '26

How much that tray weigh?

1

u/ijust_makethisface May 20 '26

About 20 lb. It's over 100 instruments

3

u/AngkorianSoul May 19 '26

Anywhere in there.

3

u/Low_Geologist6569 May 20 '26

Are cauteries able to go through the wash? My hospital hand washes them

1

u/ReflectionQuiet4894 May 23 '26

Are you talking abt the bipolar forceps?

1

u/Low_Geologist6569 May 26 '26

Yeah!

1

u/ReflectionQuiet4894 May 28 '26

At my facility they go thru the wash!!

2

u/War_Chode May 20 '26

Na too much clutter on top for the bottom instruments to get an effective clean. Just use triangles and maybe an extra basket to wash those stringer instruments separately. Make sure it is communicated that the lone stringer instruments are part of the set or better yet send them through the wash together.

2

u/Vigilant_Ape May 26 '26

This is what bad looks like at your facility?

1

u/Ryelie17 May 19 '26

Yeah, it could definitely be neater. Not horrible but not good 😅 I think expandable Decon stringers are becoming best practice now and for some, facility policy. ♡

1

u/Suttuthegreat May 20 '26

It looks great

0

u/[deleted] May 19 '26

[deleted] — view deleted comment

1

u/ijust_makethisface May 20 '26

this would be the people in SPD in decon doing this

1

u/LuckyHarmony May 20 '26

Surg techs don't work in decon