A nurse is caring for a patient who is undergoing surgery with general anesthesia. The patient asks, "What will happen to me when I'm under anesthesia?” How should the nurse respond?

Choice A reason:

Using a standardized counting method and sequence for each procedure helps to ensure consistency and accuracy in the counting process. It also reduces the risk of confusion or miscommunication among the surgical team members. This is a recommended standard of practice by the Association of Surgical Technologists (AST)

Choice B reason:

Separating sponges into groups of five or ten and counting them as one unit helps to facilitate counting and prevent foreign body retention. It also allows for easier identification of missing sponges in case of an incorrect count. This is another recommended standard of practice by the AST.

Choice C reason:

Keeping instruments and supplies on separate trays according to their function does not necessarily facilitate counting or prevent foreign body retention. It may help to organize the surgical field, but it does not address the issue of counting or documenting the items used during the procedure. Therefore, this is not a correct answer.

Choice D reason:

Using a white board or paper to record the counts and update them as needed helps to facilitate counting and prevent foreign body retention. It provides a visual reference for the surgical team members and allows for easy verification of the counts at any time during the procedure. It also helps to document any discrepancies or changes in the counts. This is another recommended standard of practice by the AST.

Choice E reason:

Discarding any unused items before the final count does not facilitate counting or prevent foreign body retention. It may actually increase the risk of losing track of the items used during the procedure or leaving some items inside the patient. Therefore, this is not a correct answer.

Choice A reason:

This is the correct definition of general anesthesia, which is a state of controlled unconsciousness, pain relief, memory loss and muscle relaxation that is induced by a combination of medications. It is used for surgical procedures where it is safer or more comfortable to be unaware and not feel pain.

Choice B reason:

This is the definition of regional anesthesia, which is a state of reduced sensation, awareness and movement in a large area of your body such as the lower half or an arm. It is used for surgical procedures that involve a specific region of the body and do not require complete unconsciousness.

Choice C reason:

This is the definition of local anesthesia, which is a state of numbness, tingling and loss of feeling in a small area of your skin such as a finger or a tooth. It is used for minor surgical procedures that involve only a small part of the body and do not require deep pain relief or unconsciousness.

Choice D reason:

This is not a correct definition of any type of anesthesia, but rather a description of natural sleep. General anesthesia is different from sleep because it involves a complete loss of awareness and responsiveness to any stimuli, whereas sleep involves periodic changes in brain activity and responsiveness to certain stimuli such as sounds or light. General anesthesia also requires artificial maintenance of vital functions such as breathing and blood pressure, whereas sleep does not.