Anything that’s located below the waist is considered unsterile - shift to the left

- Anything that’s located below the waist is considered unsterile; a sterile field becomes unsterile when it comes in contact with any unsterile item; a sterile field must be monitored continuously; and a border of 1" (2.5 cm) around a sterile field is considered unsterile.

- A “shift to the left” is evident when the number of immature cells (bands) in the blood increases to fight an infection.