7 Reasons to Become a Sterile Processing Technician
Edited by: Hank Balch, Founder and President of Beyond Clean
February 2023
Sterile Processing Technicians are responsible for keeping medical supplies and equipment ready to be used by surgeons, doctors, and other medical staff. Sterile Processing ensures that all the tools a hospital or medical office may need are properly cleaned, disinfected, sterilized, in working order, and in their correct location. Sterile Processing Technicians may also help assemble or install new equipment or tools. Most medical offices and all hospitals have Sterile Processing departments that work around the clock to provide clean and safe instruments.
Why Choose Sterile Processing as My Career?
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Being a Sterile Processing technician can be a busy, rewarding job! Often, Sterile Processing requires a wide range of skills and traits. Could it be just the career choice you’ve been looking for? Read on for more information about what makes sterile processing such an appealing choice.
- It Means Playing a Key Role in a Healthcare Team!
- There is No Prior Experience Required!
- The Certification Process is Straightforward!
- The Job Opportunities are Widespread!
- There is Always Room for Advancement
- It Comes with Flexibility...and Stability!
- You Can Feel Good About Playing a Part in Patient Care!
Now more than ever, we recognize how important our healthcare providers are, even the ones outside of doctors and nurses. Healthcare requires many, many hands behind the scenes to keep patients and providers safe, organized, and healthy. There are many critical behind-the-scenes roles in a healthcare team, and Sterile Processing is an incredibly important one. As the experts in surgical equipment and instrumentation, they keep the tools a doctor or surgeon may need in perfect condition. Sterile Processing technicians are the last people to touch a surgical instrument before it is opened in the Operating Room for a surgery.
Sterile Processing requires credentialing that may be dependent on your particular health system or location, however, there are no other prior skills required! Anyone can take a class and prepare to sit for a credentialing exam. The material you’ll learn in a Sterile Processing course will be challenging but accessible.
Certification in Sterile Processing isn’t complicated. The Healthcare Sterile Processing Association offers a certification exam that is taken on a computer at a local testing facility. This exam will cover the material you learn through a distance education course and will prepare you for the skills you will need to be confident as a Sterile Processing technician. Certification also requires 400 hours of on-the-job training, which can occur before or after taking the exam. Most Sterile Processing department hours will qualify towards this total.
Working in healthcare means you’ll have the opportunity to find jobs in many places! Sterile Processing technicians mainly work in hospitals, but can also be found in other medical clinics, surgery centers, dental clinics, and even in the veterinary setting. A patient getting seen for inpatient surgery will need the skills of a Sterile Processing technician, but so will many patients receiving outpatient procedures!
As with any healthcare career, nothing beats experience. As you spend time working in a hospital setting as a specialist in Sterile Processing, you’ll gain skills to propel you forward into additional career growth. Some healthcare systems have Sterile Processing team leads or shift leads, as well as department educators, instrument coordinators, quality assurance, and even repair technicians. The skills you learn will transfer to other hospitals and offices, as well as the many companies who support surgery as outside vendors. Building connections with providers and other members of your team can help your career grow!
Healthcare is a round-the-clock job, and so is Sterile Processing! There are frequently opportunities to work a variety of shifts, both full and part time, in Sterile Processing. If you have a busy lifestyle, it might be perfect for you to work evening or night shifts. No matter what your schedule requires, there may be a flexible option for you in a hospital setting. Many certified technicians also go on to work as "traveling" Sterile Processing professionals, who take short term contracts at facilities in need of immediate staffing support. This career flexibility doesn’t come as a sacrifice to stability either! Medical device reprocessing is a growing industry with a constant demand for skilled team members.
Do you like helping others? Does job satisfaction mean a lot to you? Sterile Processing is the perfect behind the scenes role for someone looking to work in healthcare. You can make a difference in a patient’s quality of care while they are in need of surgical intervention. The work you do directly impacts the health and safety of a patient, which is something you can feel good about.
How Do I Become a Sterile Processing Technician?
You’ve seen the reasons why Sterile Processing can be an incredible career choice, so now you’re curious about next steps to take. It can be very simple to become a Sterile Processing technician!
- Complete an online learning program, which you can enroll for right here
- Take the HSPA exam
- Finish 400 hours of clinic work to move from provisional to full certification
- Go Save lives as a certified Sterile Processing Technician
It really is that simple! You could be starting your journey to a new career in as little as four months.
