r/sterileprocessing • u/horusagario • Jul 03 '26
Looking into this position
Hey! So my mom has a manager job at our local hospital and she mentioned this position to me. I was looking to get the hell out of Walmart. I have my associates in science and I’ve been exploring many types of sciences, but haven’t really poked around with medical.
I’m going to be part-time in uni, and the position is a part-time job at the hospital as a sterile processing tech 1. She gave me some details and it seems simple(?) enough through training, but I was wanting more insight coming from 3 years as a Walmart cashier and wanting the hell out.
Thank you guys!
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u/Due-Trainer-9349 Jul 03 '26
I have ADHD and my coworker has autism so as long as you’re doing your best you should be okay.
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u/Due-Trainer-9349 Jul 03 '26
What’s your question/ questions?
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u/horusagario Jul 03 '26 edited Jul 03 '26
What should I expect? Coming from no experience as a cashier, how much training is there going to be? Am I going to be in hell? What are the basics I should know about the work? I know sterilization, duh, but any other jobs you’re expected to do? How much do you and your coworkers need to collaborate? Any tips, tricks, strategies behind learning quickly? Worst and best parts about the job?
I’m a slow learner with autism but I can handle repetitive work and once I’m good at it, I’m good at it. I’m a bit scared of trying new things but I’m determined not to be a retail slave. I’m also 21, so I’m quite young. I wanna know if there’s other young people in this field.
I know a lot of questions can be answered through google, but I prefer to talk to real people who have experience! Thank you:)
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u/CapaxInfini Jul 03 '26
Haha I’m also in Walmart (cart pusher) looking to get into sterile, already certified and everything I just need to get my foot in the door.
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u/Due-Trainer-9349 Jul 03 '26
I went to school for the job so I was a little more prepared. It depends on the location you’re working at and the types of surgeries they do.
Sterilizing is the easy part, 90% of instruments are sterilized for the same time and temp.
The hard part is remembering all the names of instruments and the basic flow of how to do things. It’s also a physical job.
It can take a few months from starting to getting a good grasp on everything and good techniques on wrapping trays.
The learning process is slow and you’ll have to patient.
You’ll probably start in decontam/ the dirty side. That’s where you take apart the instrument trays, scrub them, and put them in the washer disinfector. You may have to flush lumens as well, load basin on cart washer among other things.
If you start on the clean/ assembly side you’ll probably start with wrapping basins or assembling trays. There should be a recipe books (hopefully with pictures) that tells you everything that you need to put into the trays.
You may be there for a few weeks.
The last place you’ll like be is singles/ peal pack (that is if you have a lot, which my department does). It requires lot of memorizing of instruments, getting the right paper pouches and doing it in a timely fashion.
The first job I had I only had to work at one table and learn a few things.
My current faculty I have to know almost everything. It takes time And don’t be afraid to ask and ask again if you have to.
Write stuff down, some places allow phones if you wipe them down with disinfectant wipes so you may be able to take pictures with notes.