Putting on sterile gloves

Authors: Brikez Yu.

Editor: Rednenko V.V.

Equipment for the practical skill:

• package of proper-sized sterile gloves
• manipulation table
• waste container «Packaging»

Clinical situation:

Put on sterile gloves before invasive procedure

Order of the skill performance

• choose your size and type of gloves
• check the integrity of the packaging and expiration date

• perform hygienic or surgical hand antisepsis
• open the package by carefully separating the inner and outer wrappers of the package

• place the inner wrapper onto manipulation table
• place the outer wrapper in the «Packaging» container
• open inner wrapper to expose gloves
• identify right and left hand; glove dominant hand first

• grasp the 2-inch- (5-cm-) wide cuff with the thumb and first two fingers of the nondominant hand, touching only the inside of the cuff

• step backward
• gently pull the glove over the dominant hand, making sure the thumb and fingers fit into the proper spaces of the glove

• with the gloved dominant hand, slip your fingers under the cuff of the other glove, gloved thumb abducted, making sure it does not touch any part on your nondominant hand

• gently slip the glove onto your nondominant hand, making sure the fingers slip into the proper spaces 

• with gloved hands, interlock fingers to fit the gloves onto each finger

Treatment of disposable latex medical sterile gloves with alcohol-containing solutions is prohibited, because these solutions destroy the protective layer of gloves.