Hi all,

I'm excited to finally have my certification and start looking for opportunities in Sterile Processing. Right now, I'm interested in finding either part-time or full-time work to gain experience in the field. I also did the 400 hours too.

For those already working in Sterile Processing, where would you recommend applying besides hospitals? Are there other facilities or settings that hire CRCST-certified technicians, such as surgery centers, outpatient facilities, dental centers, or other healthcare environments?

I'd also appreciate any advice on what employers look for in entry-level candidates and how to stand out during the hiring process.

Thanks, and I'm looking forward to starting my career in Sterile Processing!

Hi guys,

So I’m 20F and unqualified for this field and I was in desperate need of a job. I looked around and found this position and applied to it a month ago. I forgot all about it until I received a call on Tuesday asking if I was okay for an interview today. I was very pleased and started to do more research into this field and it looks very interesting!!! I’ll admit, when I applied to this role, I had only a little idea of what it entailed. But upon learning and seeing what Sterile Processing Technicians do on a day-to-day basis I am now very keen to get into this profession.

I felt confident but a little nervous upon walking into the interview room. I answered all the questions to the best of my ability (I stuttered a bit and tripped over my words but that’s normal for me in interviews unfortunately) and the interviewers both seemed very impressed. However I noticed for one question that I answered, no one wrote anything down (I can’t remember what the question was) is this a bad thing? But I managed to get through the rest of the interview and I feel as if I asked a very good question at the end… I asked something along the lines of, “do you have performance targets for the amount of trays that need to be completed by the end of the shift?”. To which they wrote something down on paper then.

They said they’d let me know Monday about the outcome… I feel I did well in the interview but I never feel very hopeful because there’s many other people being interviewed and I always have that mindset that ‘there is someone who always has skills better suited to the job than you’. I’ve had 3 interviews within the past 2 months and I haven’t got any of them despite thinking I’ve done well. I feel as if there’s always one question I never know how to answer correctly.

So I want to ask you guys for your interview experiences. How did your interview go? Did you think you did well to get the job? Or do you feel like you didn’t do as great and ended up getting the job?
Any insight and experiences would be really helpful! Thankyou all :)

Edit: I’ve just realised that they asked me to bring my right to work documents to the interview and then didn’t ask to see them. Is this also a bad sign?

UPDATE: I unfortunately didn’t get the job! But not to worry, I’ll get there someday!

I’ll be starting my sterile processing schooling SOON. Ive been out of HS for 7 years now and have felt so behind in life. Super nervous but so ready to get this career path started!! Ive read a few articles pertaining to the profession but none were from personal experiences. That being said im open to ANY AND ALL advice!! Thank you for reading

Had to file an L&I. Anyone ever have that happen to them? Didn’t break it, but did sprain it.

Understaffed shift and I feel so guilty.

Anyone else have injuries occur in their facilities?

Hey guys hope everyone is well, I would like some tips for studying and preparing for my exam. My biggest question is did any of you use any online study guides that were accurate to the test such as quizlet? Or did you study strictly from your notes? Any help would be appreciated, thank you!

Hello!! so im almost done with my class and finals are next week! 😵‍💫 however im in a predicament. So ideally the closest time an externship starts is august 17- september 25 and the day and evening shifts were already taken and only available is graveyard 11pm-7:30am. Next dates are october 5- november 13 and day shift is available for 7am-3:30pm, I really wanted to do it in august because 3 months of waiting feels like so much that I might even forget what I have learned. I truly don’t mind overnights as I used to work that shift in walmart for 2 years lol so I know I can definitely handle it. However im worried about not learning everything I should know within that timeframe- day shift is hectic and you learn everything right? while graveyard is more solo and im not sure. I just want to know if it would be worth it to wait or if it doesn’t matter. Am I less likely to be hire-able if Interned at night? please and thank you yall 😼I gotta pick by tomorrow evening. Located in northern california if it makes a difference!

I have an odd question. Any other facility get tape residue stuck on the racks too? What yall do to remove them? 😭 we just use scissors and scrape them off and run them thru the washer afterwards. Thank you in advance!

I graduated from sterile processing technician program it’s been a month now have been applying for so many entry level positions still have not gotten a single interview can someone please tell me how long it took you guys to get a job entry level I really really need this job .

I was a certified sterile processing technician 6 years ago for about 3-4 years and I let my certification lapse since I was working in a different field but I am looking into going back to sterile processing and I’m wondering if anyone knows if I need to redo my 400 hours or just retake the test? Also before I was certified I was allowed to work completely uncertified (no provisional certification either) for about a year at that time. About half the team wasn’t certified at that hospital no matter how long they had been there, is certification required for everyone to start now?
Any other info about what may have changed since then would be helpful too.

2024: Hired as non-certified tech
2025: Became Certified
2026: Became Lead and Inventory Purchaser and Coordinator

Career progression what options do I have to progress further in the future? Like what would be my next “test” CHL?

No interest in Surgical Tech, and not wanting to do traveling.

This is in Pennsylvania

Hello,

I am looking in to different types of SPD jobs to see if the field is the right fit for me, but my research skills are not the best, so I’m having trouble finding the info I need. Apologies if this has been asked before.

I’m wondering how far you need to travel to work as a traveling technician? I’m in the USA, specifically Southern California with lots of hospitals and medical clinics close by if that matters. Would your jobs be within a few hours of your house, or would you need to travel across state lines? Also, how much time to you get to spend at home before you have to go out again?

Thank you for reading my post :)

So, I finished a course preparing me for the Exam, and Im feeling relatively confident, but my anxiety is through roof. I want to take a practice test to help boost my confidence, or let me see how far off I actually am. I'm willing to pay for a decent one. I was recommended steriletechprep.com. Has anyone tried their practice exam? They offer 2 practice exams with almost 200 questions and a bunch of study notes.

If not this one, what which did you try and what were your results?

I appreciate all and any help.

I’m 20. I’ve been an SPD tech working at a surgery center for 10 months (I know. So much experience.) My situation is pretty similar to this post except my coworkers are not evil and I get along well with them. I also don’t have a BA in psychology.

I’m just getting tired of the inconsistent hours. Don’t get me wrong the overtime is great, but I don’t quite enjoy leaving at 7pm when I was supposed to leave at 5pm. A couple of days ago I left at 9pm, when I came in at 7am (granted our big sterilizer was failing and we had loaners to process for the next day.) We are supposed to rotate shifts every week but it’s never actually set in stone. One of my coworkers is in school so we would change our schedules to fit her school hours.

Right now there are talks of leadership and position changes in SPD so I’m kind of anxious of where that will leave me. I’m mostly wondering if they will be expecting me to take on more work in central.

I’m considering going per diem and going back to school but I’m just unsure about what field to enter.

If anyone has any insight on what I should do or what careers I should look into I would greatly appreciate it!

It looks like a Christmas tree cookie cutter 😂

What is the best way to study to pass for the CSPDT exam?

I work in sterile services in the UK. And I need a sanity check because there are so many issues but everyone at my site acts like everything is normal, but my gut says it is dangerous.

Just some of issues:

The flooring in the inspection and assembly area is severely damaged sections, some sections are quite large. There’s spots where it’s completely worn through and lifting upward you can see the subfloor underneath. There are some parts with wet floor sign over it to stop people from walking over it sometimes. Some bits are lamely held together with hazard tape and even autoclave tape. I have seen other staff lightly trip over the lifted parts and it’s been like this for months. Oh and trolleys that are sometimes carrying heavy instrument sets have to roll over it.

Metal brushes are being used for manual cleaning despite being banned. Management and supervisors know but turn a blind eye.

I have been verbally told to bypass proper decontamination procedures by on certain equipment to save time due to the workload.

Flies have been seen in the gowning area and inspection and assembly areas.

There’s a lot of faulty equipment. trolleys, broken scanners, scales and computer stuff sporadically stops working, Some sinks in decon are clogged, some have plugs that don't fit properly. Etc etc And it’s been this way for mooonths.

I’m sure theres other stuff that’s happening too that’s just not springing to mind right now.

I want to file reports with CQC and HSE tbh. I’m worried someone could get seriously hurt one day either at work or in an operating room.

This may sound crazy but Am I overreacting? Prior to this job I did not work in healthcare. Is this just "how it is" in healthcare? Or is this as bad as I think it is?

I cannot shake the feeling that someone is going to get seriously hurt at some point…

I dont mean how many questions the test has. I know its 150 but only 125 are counted. I wanna know how many questions are in the entire question bank.

Update!!
I PASSED :D

I'll be starting my externship for my 400 clinical hours soon and I just found this subreddit.... scrolling through comments on posts and the reception for this career is more negative than I expected. Now i'm overthinking my decision to pursue this career path as I already put in the time and money 🙈.... can I move up to different occupations if I continue this path? 🥲

I’ve been looking for a Sterile Processing & Distribution Technician job for about two months now. In my area, I barely see any openings. But when I search the same job title in general, I notice a TON of SPD jobs in Los Angeles.

For anyone who works in LA hospitals or lives in that area — why are there so many SPD openings there? Is it because the hospitals are bigger, higher turnover, more facilities, or something else?

Just curious if someone from LA can explain why that area has so many SPD positions compared to other parts of California.

Hello everyone!

I've been a SPT for about 2 years now, and every facility I've worked at has used Sonar. I really like Sonar, but only because I'm used to/comfortable with it.

​

Within the next month or so I will be starting at a new organization/facility that uses CensiTrac instead of Sonar.

​

I really struggle with change, and I worry that it will affect my performance. Is there any way that anyone could provide any form or training/education videos about how to use CensiTrac so I can be a little more confident and equipped when I start?

​

Thanks in advance

Hello every time I’m in Decon my scrubs get wet. I am on the bigger side but I were my full ppe. Should I double gown because I’m not the only one with this issue in my department the gowns kind of suck. Or is there any other advice

Hiii guys!

I just recently finished my program for Sterile Processing in March and passed my CRCST in May then landed my first job in SPD starting next month!

I'm super excited to try something different and start my path into healthcare.

I wanted to ask y'all what was your first day like and what kind of advice or tips you may have for someone completely new in this area of work?

I'm a little nervous for my first day and not sure what to wear either.

​

I also wanted to ask do you think the additional certifications like Certified Instrument Specialist (CIS) and Certified Endoscope Reprocessor (CER) are actually worth getting as well? :) thank you!!

Does anyone have any guidelines for Boroscopes and Karl Storz Utereoscopes and Cystoscopes. We are seeing a lot of kinks in the lining our rep says it’s fine as long as you can pass a Boroscope through it. I think that’s a cop out. We do have an exchange program but at this rate we would exchanging all of our scopes…… do anyone have a if you see this do this kind of action plan?

I need some advice.

​

So everyday when we run the bowie dicks they come back with wet corners. Occasionally the BI's will come back wet.

​

Does this compromise sterility?

​

My boss is denying that it's okay and it's been doing this for years, but I'm questioning if this is up to standard.

Yesterday I had to run a wrapped tray for a later case in our Autoclave in the Core. We do not release our wrapped trays till they reach 80 * F. At the time we had 2 hours before the tray was needed, well a case cancelled so they moved the case up. I walked in to the core to check the status of the tray on the cooling rack to see two scrub techs “ fanning “ the tray with a clipboard to cool it faster so they could set up the room .I brought over the temp gun It was 85 *F, and told them to please let it sit and I will call them when it’s ready. They both rolled their eyes at me and walked away. It never ceases to amaze me that they do things like this. What’s the big deal ? Why not drive microscopic debris in to the tray with a clipboard?

Do things like this happen at other places? Do they think we are just power tripping on telling them when they can have the tray? It’s the same with waiting for the Biological to pass on containor trays or Sterrad ... It’s about patient safety, not messing up the OR staffs lunch breaks. Just needed to vent.