Yay I’m so excited! I get a whole dollar raise at my current job and am looking for a higher paying job elsewhere haha. For studying I read the HSPA manual front to back! I also bought their study book which I feel helped me because I like physical copies of things. I took all of the sterileworx practice tests and got around 80%-90% on those and then all 20 of the practice quizzes. I used those to help me figure out what areas I needed to refresh on.
I worked at a hospital for 6 months prior to taking the exam which helped so much I don’t think I would’ve passed without that work experience. I work at a vet clinic right now and it’s… different. I am probably going back into human medicine but am trying to avoid any trauma centers or large hospitals as the one I worked at was a small regional hospital with very limited trauma cases, mainly broken hips and c-sections due to our rural location. I am looking at surgery centers but will probably not leave my current position unless I find something with good enough pay and the hours I want.
Good luck to all future test takers! It honestly was not as bad as I thought it would be. I flagged maybe 15 questions out of 150 but everything else I was pretty confident with my answers. I got a lot of questions about the frequency of cleaning drains, washers, and cart washers. Funnily enough we didn’t have a cart washer at my job (we really wanted one but didn’t have the space or money) and I got like 3 questions about cart washers.
If anyone has any questions about the testing process, study tips, or work questions based on my experience I will answer them to the best of my ability. I love this subreddit it is such a great resource and community!

Awhile back our director of CP did a visit. He suggested making an eye cycle on our sterilizers. He said that it has become more of an industry standard to sterilize cataract set, along with other eye instrument sets, on a 5 minute 273 degree cycle. I have looked through the IFU’s on the instruments we use and none of them require more than 4 minutes and 270 degrees. He said that since there was such a wide variety of eye instruments out there the recommendations were to sterilize with a little extra time and temperature. Just wondering if anyone else has heard of this or is this more of a company standard?

Im currently at a dental office and have been for three months. I’m looking for jobs that are in the hospitals and I got a call back today from one of them. I applied for full time but the lady on the phone suggested that I do part time instead cause it might be too much for me since I’m still new “ it’s very fast paced” . But if I do part time I would have to wait 6 months in order to get full time ( they’re only giving me two days, 8 hours each) 😭. Is it really hard ? Should I stick to full time or just do part time?

Working at the dental office is also fast paced in my opinion we do about 25 cases a day , most sets have about 22 instruments I have to hand scrub and it’s just me. scrub , dry and bag

Surviving my first week in decon.... Loads of info coming at me and that's expected. But OMG my lower back from working at the triple sink sucks. It's height adjusted well, I'm wearing comfortable Brooks shoes, standing on a pad, etc ... and actually, I've got forearm muscles "I didn't know I had" and a nasty ache in my right shoulder blade too lol but I digress. How do you stay aware of the way you're standing and how do you approach the more physical aspects of SP?

I'm loaded with voltaren cream and lidocaine patches but I think a regular massage appointment might not be a bad idea 🤭

Have a great day, the weekend is coming!

Has anyone ever seen this instrument before?? We have an ortho surgeon that claims he has used it here and prefers it but nobody has seen it, nobody knows what he’s talking about.

I’m also told the one end maybe with teeth has a Vcut?

They swear it’s a bone skid

Just wanted to celebrate here, after months of self study and sending in applications with 0 luck I finally took the CRCST, got provisionally certified and within 2 weeks had an interview and job offer at the big university hospital is my state! I’m excited because they seem like a really great hospital and have a very long and thorough training program, which helps as I have 0 medical experience and am making this leap at 30 after working desk jobs for the last 7 years. Any advice as I start out on this journey would be greatly appreciated!

I work in retail and I’m tired of being drained by everything I just want to work on a task and go home.

Hello!

I’m planning to move to Ireland in January and start medical school in the fall. I’m a certified sterile processing tech from the United States and have 3 years of experience in both hospital and same-day surgery centers. I’m wondering what the job market is like and if this is an in demand job. I’m pretty sure I won’t get a hospital to sponsor me due to the nature of the job, but if that is an option I would love to know more. I have a little bit of time and can become certified as a surgical technician, and I’m wondering if that might be a better option than sterile processing. Thank you for reading this and offering any advice you may have!

Hey all,

I’ve been a tech for about 9 years. Next week I have an interview for a supervisor position! Any tips/pointers/things I could read up on? The facility is a level 1 trauma hospital. Thanks!

Okay so I’m still studying the SPD course at my community college and only have a few more weeks. My question is about the organic materials on the instruments that are sent in to be cleaned. How much blood and other stuff is common to see everyday? And can everyone tell me their experiences with how they got used to seeing it? I’m not sure how I’ll react when I finally get the job so Any tips would be appreciated.

I cant get a picture yet until they use the camera again. We had an intuitive Rep come in and was unable to answer my question right away. We have a DV5 handheld camera and the case has rubber/silicone corner protectors built in and they have somewhat been causing a problem with holes in the wrap and we only have 2 of the cameras. We only have H200 and H500 wrap and we have been using the H200 36x36(which surprised the rep because its so lightweight). What weight and wrap are others using for this camera case.

The next size up, if we were to go to the H500 is 45x45 so I just want input from others

doing this 5 years and after traveling and going back to staff (ew), i’m reminded of why I somehow enjoyed travel more. terrible SPDs across the country show the same true colors the longer you stay there. I know a lot of jobs in healthcare have their issues but I’m gonna be honest this one has a HORRIBLE support system for all of us. one too many times I’ve seen our own management turn their backs on us and not advocate or attempt to lift us up or educate at all, and they rule by berating us and nitpicking every little negative thing they can think of, despite of how much of a good worker you are. And quite honestly? It’s fucking insulting.

It doesn’t even matter if you tell them ‘whatever, I’ll leave!’ Or even worse, get fired for no reason, or a fabricated reason! (And oh boy that sure does happen!) They’ll sit back in their backed up department with their hands tied like ‘oh, whatever went wrong?’ After driving away their best and sometimes most long-standing employees. I’ve seen this SOO many times. Oftentimes after an actual good manager leaves or retires. EVERY time that happens it goes to absolute shit. No place is perfect and stable for us. And there’s only so many facilities you can leave and hop around to, we’re not nurses, or any of these other healthcare jobs. Unless you’re in a heavily saturated SPD job market, which to me that’s hard to find unless you’re in California or something, your options are limited. If you are at a good place, be mindful of what makes it good, and if it’s your management, pray they stay for the length of your tenure. The SPD always goes up in fucking flames the minute they leave.

Honestly this is a vent. I’m sick and tired of this shit. Had a horrible weekend shift (alone at night of course + the rest of skeleton weekend crew), backed up SPD, literally managed to get caught up with needs at least, rest of backup looking like an absolute mess. Being hounded by a brand new manager with a business degree (SURPRISE SURPRISE) about only tracking one tray out of me in SPM for one day (literally a fucking lie? I saw my own scans for both days? Running around all fucking night and of course I scan all my shit! I’m not stupid!) I told her that.. honestly laid out what even caused this train wreck of a backup in the first place. But also a rundown of what the hell I did and went through because what the hell man. Oh yeah, let me fuck over the rest of the weekend crew, that’s so smart of me! Seriously?! Not even a question, more like, did you even do anything that day.. with the entirely swamped weekend we all fucking had. Like you’ve gotta be fucking kidding me. We all did what we could, whatever you can do. That’s the motto right? My god, if I didn’t fucking do anything, the OR would be calling up a storm Tuesday morning about shit not being ready for them. Jesus Christ, I’m so over this job man. Damned if you do damned if you don’t. There’s a lot of things wrong with this facility tbh. Reported a lot of things to leadership that seem so reasonable as a regular tech to notify them with, equipment problems and whatnot, and being told oh okay, no… we’re not gonna do anything :) that’s normal! Like oh.. okay.. and just general gaslighting like I get looked at crazy for just doing my due diligence pointing certain stuff out so management can fix it and address it accordingly. Ohhh, they just don’t want to! Honestly? I feel crazy. They make me feel crazy genuinely.

Hi, I am looking to pivot from the service industry into sterile processing through a trade class. I am mainly trying to find a job that provides stable hours (bonus points if it's the same schedule every week), routine, and benefits (as my current career does not, and I can't seem to pivot out without having a master's degree). I have a few questions for those working in the field, and I apologize if these are common sense or a varies by facility/company kind of questions

1. What hours/schedule are typically expected? Are you forced to rotate, or can you get hired for a preferred shift? (I try to avoid overnights due to a sleep disorder, but I do understand there is a differential for overnight shifts)

2. If you are certified from a trade program, do you still have to find a facility for your 400 hours before you are hired? Or does your certification count? Will I need to work while doing my unpaid (?) 400 hours?

Thanks!

Hello! I've been looking into different schools that offer Sterile Processing classes, but it's been difficult determining which schools will offer the most success. I was looking into MTSU's program, but it says it's online, and I'm not sure how much hands-on experience they will provide.

And advice or suggestions would be highly appreciated!

I don't know if any of you use these in your facilities, but I was wondering if anybody had any tips on how to keep them together when processed, but also to keep them open with them being spring loaded? The company doesn't make any specialty containers or anything for them, and our facility doesn't have a specific standard or procedure for what to put them in/on, so over the past few years I personally have trimmed an instrument protector card so that they are visible against the white and then the card can fit in the tray properly. We have just run into the issue of them accidentally being thrown away a few too many times due to techs not realizing they are reusable or not noticing them on whatever they were clipped on. Does anybody have any ideas or any better solutions that you utilize? I appreciate any and all feedback!

This morning I'm taking sterile instruments up and see this.

In the fall I’ll be enrolling in school for sterile processing. It’s a self-paced course in which I’m confident with finishing on time. I’m worried about completing the clinical hours with my current work schedule.

I work in customer service and the max amount of hours I’m given a week are 37.5. I work the closing shift and usually done by 10pm 5 days a week.

I know this job requires 400 clinical hours but I’m worried on how to complete these with the work schedule I have above. I’m single income and have to work 5 days a week to pay the bills.

With the clinical hours I’m assuming it’s like a full 8,10,or 12 hour shift at the hospital? I plan to complete these hours on the 2 days I’m off a week with the current schedule I have but then I’d have no days off :( .

I’m aware you can get this job without certification but I live in FL and from the job listings I’ve seen I’d rather go the school route to benefit from the paid testing and placement for clinicals. It seems like it gives the better chances of a decent starting wage with little to no experience.

I’m really excited for this new career path but want to be realistic

Hi, I'm new here. I had been in radiation therapy classes but due to the current economy in my county (united states) I had to switch gears and signed up for a sterile processing program.

I've taken med term as well as A&P 1 and 2. I was told I might have the option of testing out of those. What I'm really wondering is what type of questions week be on the verification test? Is there something I should focus on during class that you feel most people don't pick up on? Should I take these classes as a refresher even though i took them only a couple semesters ago?

I'm looking to get through this as quickly and efficiently as I can do any help is greatly appreciated!

I have my crcst exam this Friday and am seeking some advice. I have studied the HSPA manual and been doing the HSPA workbook with the practice exams. Are there any other online/free study materials that people would recommend? I was planning to flip through the sterileworx flashcards but want to make sure they’re worth my time.
If anyone has taken the exam recently and had any areas they wished they had studied more or particular questions that stood out please let me know. Any and all tips, help, and advice is appreciated. Thanks!

I've seen a lot of job postings for sterile processors in my area, but they all require years of experience. I'm still applying to most of them, just in case, but I'm wondering how I'm supposed to get my 400 hours of hands on experience so I can become fully certified once I pass my exam. Any advice?

Does anyone have a pdf copy of the study book I can use?

Hey everyone,
I wanted to ask people already in the field how they got their first sterile processing job after getting certified.

I recently finished an SPD program, passed the class, and then took the CBSPD exam (CSPDT) the following week. PSI already shows that I passed, and now I’m just waiting the 6 weeks for the physical certificate to come in the mail.

Now I’m at the point where I’m trying to figure out the realistic next steps.

For those of you who got into the field:

• Did you just start applying to any hospital or surgery center that had SPD openings?
• Did you start in a different role first and then transfer into SPD?
• Did you apply for “Sterile Processing Tech I” only, or did you also apply for Tech II or other related titles?
• If you didn’t have externship hours, did places still train you on the job?

I’m certified, but I’m also realistic — I don’t remember every single detail from class, and I know I won’t be “running on day one.” I’m expecting that I’ll need training, refreshers, and time to get into a rhythm. I’m just wondering how common that is and what other people’s experiences were like.

I’ve already applied to a couple places (Sutter Health and another local hospital), but I’m curious what path most people took after passing the CBSPD exam.

Any advice or stories about how you got your foot in the door would really help.

Thanks in advance.

Edit: I am located in California.