NCCT Practice Exam Verified Success
Surgical and Operating Room Questions
1. What is the minimum percentage level of humidity in the OR suite? - A. 10% - B. 20% - C. 26% - D. 30%
️ B. 20%
Rationale: The current standard for the range of relative humidity in the OR is to be 20 ...
NCCT Practice Exam Verified Success
Surgical and Operating Room Questions
1. What is the minimum percentage level of humidity in the OR suite?
- A. 10%
- B. 20%
- C. 26%
- D. 30%
✔️ B. 20%
Rationale: The current standard for the range of relative humidity in the OR is to be 20 to 60%. These
levels provide comfort for the patient and surgical team, contribute to infection control, and decrease
static discharge.
2. Which of the following is the minimum amount of time an unwrapped Kelly clamp needs to be flash
sterilized for?
- A. 6 minutes
- B. 3 minutes
- C. 7 minutes
- D. 12 minutes
✔️ B. 3 minutes
Rationale: The minimum amount of time is 3 minutes.
3. Before medications or solutions are poured onto the sterile field, the surgical technologist should
verify which of the following? (Select the three (3) correct answers.)
- A. Patient
- B. Date
- C. Medication
- D. Dosage
- E. Procedure
✔️ B. Date, C. Medication, D. Dosage
, Rationale: Correct patient and procedure are the responsibility of the circulator prior to obtaining
medication. Expiration date, name of medication, and dosage must be communicated during transfer to
reduce medication errors.
4. A class II or a clean-contaminated surgical wound enters through where?
- A. Respiratory, GI, genital, or urinary tract
- B. Respiratory, genital, or urinary tract but not GI
- C. GI and genital only
- D. Respiratory only
✔️ A. Respiratory, GI, genital, or urinary tract
Rationale: Class II: Clean Contaminated involves a minor break in sterile technique; controlled entry to
aerodigestive or genitourinary tract, including respiratory and GI.
5. When disinfecting a flexible endoscope used on a patient with TB, which of the following sterilization
methods should be employed?
- A. Steris
- B. Bleach
- C. Steam
- D. Enzymatic
✔️ A. Steris
Rationale: The Steris machine is used to clean and rid microorganisms from flexible endoscopes. Steam
sterilization is incompatible with endoscopes.
6. Which of the following patients is at the greatest risk for intraoperative hypothermia?
- A. 2-year-old undergoing excisional debridement for full-thickness burns
- B. 14-year-old undergoing posterior spinal fusion with Harrington Rods
- C. 40-year-old undergoing transabdominal laparoscopic nephrectomy
- D. 86-year-old undergoing an esophageal dilation for stricture
✔️ A. 2-year-old undergoing excisional debridement for full-thickness burns
Rationale: Children can lose heat quickly and cannot regulate body temperature as well as adults.
,7. The surgeon is closing skin with the final stitch and all counts are complete. Which of the following
should the surgical technologist have ready for the next step? (Select the three (3) correct answers.)
- A. Wet sponge
- B. Dry sponge
- C. ABD pad
- D. Duraprep
- E. Cottonoids
✔️ A. Wet sponge, B. Dry sponge, C. ABD pad
Rationale: After all counts are done and the incision has been closed, the incision needs to be cleaned
and dried before applying the sterile dressing.
8. Which of the following retractors has sharp disposable inserts that must be disposed of in an
appropriate sharps container following the end of the surgical case?
- A. Mayfield
- B. Cloward
- C. Bookwalter
- D. Greenfield
✔️ A. Mayfield
Rationale: The Mayfield headrest has sharp pins that must be disposed of in a sharps container.
9. A patient is having a laparoscopic-assisted vaginal hysterectomy. If the surgeon is unable to extract
the uterus vaginally, which of the following equipment should the surgical technologist have available to
retrieve the uterus?
- A. Harmonic scalpel
- B. LigaSure
- C. Morcellator
- D. Enseal
✔️ C. Morcellator
Rationale: Morcellation allows cutting the specimen into smaller pieces for easier removal.
, 10. The scheduled case is a prostatectomy. The surgeon has requested chromic gut suture for
reanastomosis. If Chromic gut is unavailable, which of the following sutures is a viable substitute?
- A. Polyester/Dacron
- B. Silk
- C. Nylon
- D. Vicryl
✔️ D. Vicryl
Rationale: Vicryl is an absorbable suture and an acceptable substitute for chromic gut.
11. Postoperatively a hernia repair patient complains of ulnar pain, numbness, and tingling bilaterally.
The most likely cause of the patient's discomfort is that the surgical technologist forgot to:
- A. adduct the arm.
- B. place the axillary roll.
- C. place arm pads.
- D. abduct the arm.
✔️ C. place arm pads.
Rationale: Arm pads are used to prevent damage to the ulnar nerve during surgery.
12. When returning from lunch in the cafeteria and re-entering the surgical suite, the minimum amount
of time for a surgical hand scrub should be:
- A. 10 minutes.
- B. 3 minutes.
- C. 5 minutes.
- D. 6 minutes.
✔️ C. 5 minutes.
Rationale: The initial surgical scrub is 5 minutes; subsequent scrubs are 3 minutes unless leaving the
surgical suite.
The surgical technologist is preparing the incision site for placement of a dressing following a
mastectomy. The surgical technologist noticed that the patient has developed a hematoma at the
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