DONNING and REMOVING STERILE GLOVES

(Open Glove Technique)

The sterile gloves provide a barrier between the nurse’s hands and the objects she
contacts. She is able to freely touch objects in a sterile field without fear of contamination.
When wearing sterile gloves, she should always remain conscious of which objects are sterile
and which are not.

Equipment:
A pair of sterile prepowdered gloves

Procedure

Action Rationale

To don gloves:

1. Perform thorough hand hygiene /

scrub hands thoroughly. Reduces number of microorganisms residing

on surfaces of hands.
2. Remove carefully the outer package
wrapper by separately peeling apart
the sides.
Prevents inner glove package from

3. Grasp inner package and lay it on a accidentally opening and touching

clean flat surface just above waist
level. Open the package keeping the contaminated objects.
gloves on the wrappers inside
surface.

Sterile objects held below your waist is

4. Identify right and left gloves. Each
glove has a cuff approximately 5 considered contaminated. Inner surface of
cms. (2 inches) wide. Glove your
dominant hand first. your glove package is considered sterile.

5. With thumb and first two fingers of

your non–dominant hand, grasp
edge of cuff of glove for dominant
hand. Touch only inside surface of
glove.

Proper identification of gloves prevents

6. Carefully pull glove over your
dominant hand, leaving a cuff and contamination by improper fit. Gloving of
being sure that cuff does not roll up
to your wrist. Be sure that thumb dominant hand first improves your dexterity.
and fingers are in proper spaces.

7. With your gloved dominant hand,

slip your four fingers underneath
second
 glove’s cuff with the thumb
abducted.
Inner edge of cuff will lie against your skin

8. Carefully pull second glove over and that is not considered sterile.
your non–dominant hand. Do not
allow fingers and thumb of gloved
dominant hand to touch any part of
your exposed non dominant hand.

To remove gloves:

9. Use dominant hand to grasp the If glove’s outer surface touches your hand or
opposite glove near cuff end on the
outside exposed area. Remove it by wrist, it is contaminated.
pulling it off, inserting it as it is
pulled, keeping the contaminated
area on the inside. Hold the
removed glove on the remaining
glove hand.

Cuff protects your gloved fingers. Sterile

10. Slide fingers of ungloved hand
between the remaining glove and touching sterile prevents glove contamination.
wrist, remove it by pulling it off,
inverting as it is pulled keeping the
contaminated area on the inside and
securing the first glove inside the
second. Contact of gloved hand with exposed hand

results in contamination.
11. Discard gloves inside the wrapper
into the appropriate container and
wash hands. Contaminated area does not come in contact

with hands or waist.

Proper disposal reduces risk for infection,

transmission and contamination of othe items.

Handwashing reduces the spread of

microorganism.