What NOT to do: Improving prelicensure nursing students understanding of sterile techniques

• Students struggle with sterile technique, risking patient safety. • This project used error-based video learning to improve sterile technique competency. • Findings support video reflection to boost safety awareness and reduce infection risks. Despite routine education regarding the importance of sterile techniques, nursing students continue to have difficulty grasping the importance of maintaining sterile techniques. Gaps in knowledge of sterile techniques result in increased healthcare associated infections, impacting patient health and quality of care. The aim of this project was to create an innovative method of teaching nursing students about breaks in sterility. Nursing faculty created videos to demonstrate breaks in sterility for students in two accelerated prelicensure nursing programs to review and reflect upon within the course. On average, students captured ∼59% of errors within the videos; however, they also focused on minute details unrelated to sterile techniques. Only ∼53% of students reported comfort intervening if they noticed a colleague breaking sterility. Student confidence in the process of performing sterile skills was high with 74% reporting feeling confident or very confident after this assignment. Continued innovation in nursing education is necessary to improve the quality of care provided by nursing students and new graduate nurses.