Skip to content
VTNE Rounds
All domains

Surgical Nursing

One of the ten domains the VTNE is built from. Every question here is checked against a textbook on the official reference list.

Share of the exam
13%
Scored items on the VTNE
20 of 150
Questions ready here
133
Make a free account to start

One question at a time. Your place is in the address bar, so you can close this and come back to the same question later.

Try a few questions first

Surgical Nursing is 20 of the VTNE’s 150 scored items. No account needed for these, answers included. The explanations cover why the right answer is right and why the others aren’t, and every answer shows the textbook it came from and where to find it.

Item count: AAVSB 2023 Veterinary Technician National Examination Content Outline, approved by the AAVSB Board of Directors, March 2023. Retrieved 2026-08-15.

  1. You are setting up the instrument table for a small animal soft tissue procedure. The surgeon says that after…
  2. At the end of an abdominal procedure the scrubbed technician tallies the sponges used on the field. Four 4 x…
  3. A dog is recovering from an exploratory laparotomy and is showing obvious signs of pain. The technician knows…
  4. A dog is presented five days after a routine ovariohysterectomy. The incision is swollen and reddened, is…
  5. A veterinary technician is preparing a dog for an exploratory laparotomy. After clipping and vacuuming the…
See all 5 with answers

Skills this domain tests

The 9 skills the AAVSB lists under this domain. Every question here is written against one of them, and the same list is on the exam blueprint.

  1. Utilize knowledge of anatomy, physiology, and pathophysiology as it applies to surgical nursing.
  2. Prepare the surgical environment, equipment, instruments, and supplies to meet the needs of the surgical team and patient.
  3. Prepare patient for surgical procedure.
  4. Function as a sterile surgical technician to ensure patient safety and procedural efficiency.
  5. Function as a circulating (non-sterile) surgical technician to ensure patient safety and procedural efficiency.
  6. Clean instruments by the appropriate method (including but not limited to manual, soak, or ultrasonic).
  7. Maintain aseptic conditions in surgical suite and during surgical procedures.
  8. Maintain the surgical environment, equipment, instruments, and supplies to meet the needs of the surgical team and patient.
  9. Sterilize equipment and supplies by the appropriate method (including but not limited to steam, gas).