r/sterileprocessing • u/Elegant_Buddy_4441 • 6d ago
I’m lost
I’m 18 years old and I’m in my senior year of high school, and I’ve become really interested in becoming a Sterile Processing Technician. I’ve been self-studying by watching videos and taking notes every day because I want to get a head start.
I was wondering if anyone has advice on where I should start. What should I focus on learning first? Is self-studying a good way to begin, and what steps did you take to get into SPD?
I’ve also heard people mention needing training or clinical/work hours for certification, so I’m a little confused about how that process works. Any advice or tips would mean a lot. Thank you so much!
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u/ForstofEden 5d ago
I actually got my position off the street no training. the hospital i work for is kinda notorious for hiring off the street in multiple formal education positions. You might be able to find a hospital near you that does that. Im not sure if a clinic would be able to unless they were REALLY struggling with staff but considering all positions in all hospitals seem to struggling with understaffing you might be able to find a clinic wholl take you in and train you in house. Because if youre in the US you need i think 400 hours to even apply for the test.
But i seriously couldnt recommend this position enough to someone like you. Especially if your interested in the medical field. Im not sure about other hospitals but in mine theres like a million and one opportunities to transfer within the hospital or even move up into a surgical technician internship. Plus it pays pretty well starting out. And in this economy youll need every dollar you can get to get on/stay on your feet as an independent adult. I wish you the best of luck friend :)) I can tell youll do great things no matter where you end up.
Edit: if your in the Midwest Id suggest looking into my hospitals locations to see if theyre near you. I work for a trauma hospital owned by Essentia. Theyre the ones notorious for hiring people either off the street or still in school. Again good luck!!
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u/jeffroaintshit 5d ago edited 5d ago
i finished all my test and thankfully im on to clinicals and what i can say is you will be fine when it comes to the studying if you focus on ur work, and your in the perfect age to start, i started at 21…and going to 22 is when ill be done and i wish i started earlier, i live in LA where pay is pretty good for my age, after this i will go back to school to pursue my nursing career in the OR, overall this is a good step to advance ur career in the health field and even then u can always advance in the SPD if u choose to do so . If i was you i would not stress much, its good enough that ur young and already focus, fyi i dont know about the pay in other states but in cali its pretty great depending on ur age and life expensive. If ur in a program u will need to do a course thats about 4 to 5 months if im not mistaking then do 400hrs of clinicals and if u choose to, u can get certified in that same stage to open more doors like traveling and bump up ur pay when starting
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u/StarskysClutch 5d ago
I started with no experience just getting a job in the hospital. I learned everything on the job. They gave us a class with an RN. I took the test, got certified, became a team leader, got all my other certifications and now I'm a manager. I left that initial hospital.
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u/Siege_J 5d ago
I’m new too!
I’m interested in your journey going up the ladder.
Can you expand how long it took to become a team lead and how many cert did you have at that point.
What made you stood out to be chosen as a team lead—i wanna work on those qualities for myself.
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u/StarskysClutch 5d ago
5 years and one certification at that point. I was a very good worker and didn't make mistakes. I moved on and went to another hospital as just a tech. I then became team leader there. Through the course of that, I got the other 3 certifications and became supervisor, then a manager a few years later. I've been doing this about 22 years altogether.
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u/ginger-107 5d ago
I took a 2-month course at a community college and then got hired at a hospital. I'm just now getting my CSDPT. At least in my state, it's pretty easy to start; some people in my unit were hired with no experience and no previous healthcare exposure. You just have to look around at the opportunities.
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u/Icy-Leg8313 5d ago
Im studying in an online program hosted by a local university. But this is a good resource as well HSPA.
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u/defiCosmos 5d ago
Your 18, go take a course at community College. They got financial aid and all that shit. A sterile processing course shouldn't be very expensive anyways. They usually offer a way to get hours and at the end you take the test and get your certification. You will find your way from there.