After donning a sterile gown, what should the surgical technician do next?

After donning a sterile gown, the next appropriate action for the surgical technician is to don sterile gloves. This step is crucial as it ensures that the technician maintains a sterile environment and protects both the surgical team and the patient from potential infections. The gloves serve as an added barrier against contaminants after the gown has been worn, completing the process of achieving a sterile field necessary for surgery.

In a surgical setting, the sequence of actions taken is imperative. Following the donning of sterile attire, putting on sterile gloves is essential to maintain that sterility when handling surgical instruments and interacting with the surgical site.

The other choices involve actions that either occur out of order or do not directly follow the wearing of a sterile gown. For instance, preparing the surgical table is typically done prior to donning sterile attire to avoid contamination of sterile items with non-sterile clothing or skin. Washing hands again after putting on the gown is unnecessary since the hands should have already been washed before gowning, and assisting the anesthetist, while important, is not the immediate next step following the completion of the sterile gowning process.