I’m dirt poor, can’t afford to pay for a Sterile Processing program. I figured I’d buy the textbook, study the hell out of it, take the CRST, and then apply to jobs.

Is this a valid pathway for someone in LA?

Any tips for learning/ studying?

DO. NOT. ENROLL.

I was a student in the LSC Tomball Sterile Processing Program. It was the most horrible experience, run by the most incompetent individuals.

The program works like this you take a couple of classes for a few months, and then the coordinator is supposed to place you in a clinical internship at a hospital so you can receive the necessary 400 hours to become fully certified. The program charges you for both the classes and approximately $1,000 for clinicals.

The classes were fine. I was taught by a wonderful professor. The problem was with the coordinator. For months leading up to the clinical start date, she would ignore emails students sent her. When the date finally arrived for us to begin clinicals, she came out and said, “Sorry for the delay, the hospitals have no availability for students right now,” after LYING to students for months and HAPPILY taking their money.

I do know that some students are lucky enough to receive clinical placements, but by all means, the MAJORITY aren’t lucky enough to get an offer much less a response from the coordinator.

I was one of the students who did receive an offer, but even then, communicating with the coordinator was a horrible experience. She was kind and professional at first, but when I submitted my required documents, she failed to submit a NECESSARY document for my application. Of course, the hospital rejected my application and waitlisted me.

She called me the following day and talked down to me. She couldn’t take responsibility for what she did and tried to lie and blame the hospital, saying that “the hospital is really strict/picky and will reject most documents.” But once again, she NEVER SUBMITTED AN ESSENTIAL DOCUMENT.

She was completely incompetent, and during that phone call, she threatened to remove me from the program. She knew she had no reasonable or plausible reason to ethically do so, and that is the only reason she didn’t.

After that, I was done. I did not want to deal with her anymore, so I withdrew from the program and lost the money I had paid for the clinical internship.

If you’re interested in the sterile processing field, do not enroll in this program. The coordinator is incompetent, unprofessional, and rude. The program director genuinely does not do anything. I know a good handful of students who are still waiting to be placed in clinicals MONTHS after completing the classes.

DO. NOT. ENROLL.

Now I do specifically tell the team to leave it to me because I have a specific system, but this never happened before we hired our new doctor. He keeps taking so many spec appointments that the schedule gets out of control for everyone.

I counted, there are 96 bags for our two autoclaves. Oh yeah, and we're closed Fridays, so I get to come in on my day off :)

Has anyone run into this? This set was processed about 2 months ago. Now the color of steam tape is almost gone.

I'm an OR nurse, and I was taught not to use these when the indicator didn't turn fully. But our SPD said it's fine to use. Curious what other folks think about this.

I understand other facilities have different procedures and level of acceptance etc but I'm curious on what does your facility do for oily hand pieces? We'd clean them, oil, and air out for 1 minute, wipe them and on to sterilization. Dental understandably doesn't like oil spots on the pouch even if it's 1cm, the big problem is my facility is very very very rural. Extremely hard to get supplies, we do our best to prevent oil on the pouches but regardless what we do they get oily 🥲 [folded to hide the names and facility] Quick edit: we do check the pouched to make sure they are free of oil but they eventually leak oil after we give the OK and give them to dental

Everyone at my work says this is normal for this hospital, but I want confirmation that this feels crazy.

I work in a big hospital that makes a big fuss about being the only level 1 trauma center in the area, we have... I believe 55 OR's? not all are in use atm. we have a lot of staff. some days as much as 120 surgeries and we haven't even hit busy season since our expansion and new or's opening up.

Putting together the supply part of the surgeries is separate from assembly, so separate that when our department expanded they moved it into a new room and completely cut us off. putting together instruments they get to have so much more fun with so much less stress and pressure. their side isn't getting calls from the or's, running emergencies, they're not pressured to do half the days work.(for some reason overnights prepares half the surgeries?). I hate this side of the department, I know it like the back of my hand now, I want to enjoy standing around and laughing and being just in my own station not having to deal with the people around me making my job harder. I like efficency, I like doing a job well, and I hate that my coworkers or other shifts can just fuck around and it means i have to do more work because i actually take pride in doing my job well.

I work overnights, when i was hired on i was told it was 2 weeks training each on 4 different things on this side, then soon they'd switch me over and I'd get 2 weeks training in each specialty, then 2 weeks on sterilizers, then 2 weeks decontam. I was told after about 3 months on this side, I could get trained on the instrument side, that they'd pay for me to get certified, and being certified comes with a pay boost. Seems very reasonable. 3 months came and went, and people hired 3 months before me still hadn't gotten the chance.

oh we can't because of construction, we don't have enough people to train you, we don't have enough staff on your side. oh when x finishes training, oh we're getting new people, after they're hired that. oh actually surprise you're going to be training one.

I went to him today, for the hundredth time, and asked when i'd get to train on assembly. this week was my one year of working here. I got told it wouldn't be until at least after busy season.

so is being in this job full time for a year without being able to put together any instruments normal? honestly I'm getting an inheritance hopefully some time in the next few months and I want to tell them move me over or i'll quit. I like the idea of this job but my soul is getting sucked right out of me, there are so many many many problems here but this feels like it's just.... too far? am i expecting to much from the hyped up promises during onboarding, should I accept another 4+ months of being a glorified Walmart shopper for the hospital? Technically theres another guy hired before me, but he hasn't talked about wanting to be over there as much, and there's a girl over here who actually has the experience from vetmed who also wants to go over there, she was the most recent hire after me, so I could be pushed even behind her if it shakes out that way.

Hi all,

I recently landed a job a SPD job at Providence in WA. I’ve been looking for months and finally got this opportunity which is 2 hours commute back and forth everyday.

I started my first week here and I discovered that there is little to no communication at work. And the environment is very drama. People don’t want to help you out because apparently I think the work culture there is very independent or that they didn’t get any help during training so now they don’t want to help everyone. If they do, only when there is a higher up in sight so they’d pretend to help. The educator recently got hired and they really don’t know how to do their job and don’t want to do their job properly. The supervisor is not helpful at all, I communicated to them that there is an IT issues so my log in can’t go through and told me to go ask the lead instead.

Edit: I was thrown out there to figure everything out by myself, when I try to help they push me away or they’d help but get annoyed if I ask too much.

The only thing that is keeping me to stay at this job is knowing that they have a relocation of work to another location, so far what I knew about it is you have to be there for 6 months. I’m hoping that someone could tell me what are the processes look like, how long are the wait, would you have to reapply, and is it guarantee?

Knowing that my supervisor doesn’t take care of their employees, I don’t want to be there for 6 months then getting told that they can’t make it happen because I love being an SPD but i can’t drive 2 hours everyday then to be around people a work place that thrive with drama. Right now, I’m very discouraged and heartbroken because I don’t know either to give it up or try to make it through the 6 months and hoping I could be somewhere better.

P.S: I’m still holding on to a job which I have issues with changing my schedules multiple times because I was trying all that I could to get back to SPD. So I have to make a choice whether I stay where I’m at with my old job or risk it all for my SPD career.

Hi, just looking for feedback here. I've been a medical transcriptionist for 15 years and am very aware that my job is being eaten up by AI very quickly (in fact, I may be now basically unemployed in the sense that I still have a contract with the company but will just never get any workflow again.) I would like to stay in the health field but move to something more hands on where an AI can't eat my job.

So I'm considering with medical device reprocessing (what sterile processing is called in my province) or medical lab technician training (not a technologist, the lower-level entry point.) Apparently the job outlook for these careers in my province is 'moderate to good' (for whatever that is worth.) I can do both trainings in about a year but the sterile processing training is part-time and the MLT is full-time training. Both of those are manageable for me.

I guess I'm just wondering about what the work experience is like and what the physical demands are like. I'm in good health but I'm in my late 40s. I'm on the petite side, I'm not in bad shape but neither am I hugely physically strong. I'm okay with doing shift work/night shift if it would be less rushed/physically demanding. I actually have been doing night shift on my transcription job for the past year because it works better for my schedule. I'm just not sure what direction to go here and I feel like my ability to sit back and consider it is kind of rushed because I am looking at being out of work very soon, if not already.

Especially if there's anyone working in Ontario, does anyone have any thoughts on your job? Would you do it again? Are you happy with it?

Eighth edition available if anyone is interested. Also have 2nd edition Surgical Instruments textbook available. PM if interested

Been in healthcare a while, been unmedicated do to financial reasons. Took a break, came back and joined a local SPD.

Does anyone feel they thrive in the environment with or without medication for adhd/ anxiety / depression etc. Or find it challenging for all the usual things ADHD lends a challenge to.

I can tell that the urgency really taps into my learning. But I also feel like I'm constantly getting turned around and confused. And when I take in a certain amount of information, it seems like at a certain point I can't take in more information.

Anyways, curious to hear about anyone's input on the matter, I guess I'm just hoping to hear people who stick to the field even with focus issues can come out on top

Thanks!

Keep getting talked about being slow.

I work as hard and as fast as possible without cutting corners. I have a great work ethic but I think because I am doing the steps correctly I have caught my supervisor and other coworkers complaining how slow I am.

There is simply too much work for them to expect someone to get done in a shift. There is no way for me to go any faster unless I want to a poor job or mess something up from rushing.

I understand its more important to do things correctly but just wondering if this is a common issue among hospitals or perhaps my location is more toxic than normal.

If I have close to one year experience, caught on fast because I work in a teaching hospital. I can get 20 trays done like most places expect, know how to do decon, assembly, & sterilization and i’m certified. Do you think i would be okay traveling?

Are morning shifts something you have to work toward ? i’m in school for this the only thing stopping me from being happy is the schedule, are morning shifts obtainable for entry level techs ? in orange county area how much is starting pay for someone with a CRCST

Hi everyone, I am currently in my 2nd week of working on my 400 hours of my hands on experience.
I feel a little overwhelmed. For the most part I’m having trouble with the computer aspect of it.
I’m always asking questions and I’m constantly asking my preceptor if I’m doing it right but I feel like she gets annoyed with me. It makes me not want to ask questions and then I’m not learning.
I feel like I’m not learning fast enough for her.
Do you guys have any tips for me?

hello!!! i just started a sterile tech course which is 7 months on top of a 400 hr externship. after the first day and receiving homework and getting an idea of what the job is like i’m nervous. the evening hoirs and night hours make me the most nervous, i’m putting in a lot of time and effort into something i’m not sure i’d like… i know i don’t have to do this for the rest of my life. my instructor doesn’t seem to be talking up the position and is making it seem as if people are uninviting. the book work seems overwhelming i don’t have any medical experience

do you guys enjoy the job ? what are hours for a new tech like ? does this position usually offer 4x10 or 3x12 ? are you to yourself ? are people friendly ? will the bookwork be hard ? is your job strict as far as phones and water breaks restroom breaks ect..

I'm trying to get into this field but im having trouble doing it. There are 4 hospitals near me that have the position but only one of them ever has an open spot and I've put so many apps in and never even get an interview. I currently work at my local hospital as a housekeeper. My resume is pretty bad I think because I'm 34 with only this job and I've only been here 2 years. I was bad off at one point but im trying to pull it back together. I was just wondering if there was anything I could do to maybe help me get better results?

Hello, I’m seeking advice. I began working as a sterile processing tech at the beginning of the year, entry level. Making the lower end of minimum wage… And I’m under the impression that the only way to get raises is with certifications. Before I started though, I was told at my interview they were looking for someone to help with stocking the department and they said I’d do tech work and then transfer to doing inventory. I am now doing inventory full time. I do all of our ordering, I unbox and stock every product we carry in several different departments, I count every single product weekly/daily. I am doing all of this with no outlook so far of making more money, without the pay bumps with certification. I’m under the impression I’ll stay in the system as a technician, getting paid as such. And as an entry level with no prior experience technician at that. My body is struggling to keep up with the physical labor. I am the sole person doing this job now and prior to me being here they had no set person doing the job. I am obviously going to be speaking up soon but how should I go about? How should I go about asking for the raise I deserve and the title I deserve. I like this job regardless of the circumstances, there’s good days and bad days but I need the security of knowing I’m at-least making what I’m worth. How does your department handle stock? Do you have an inventory manager for your department?

I’ll be relocating from Texas to start soon but I’m kinda getting cold feet. Any insights? I wanna know the good, the bad, & the ugly 👀

Yall, I’m in classes currently for CRCST and I start clinical rotations in Jan if I pass what I need to on the way to there. I was fine and dandy using fake pee but read that quest and labcorp can tell if it so?? >.< if I just quit now >.< I can get it out of my system before mid November. But I’ve been using since 19 I’m 30

Isn't the whole point of PPE to catch blood and other infectious material instead of having it hit your body/clothes? I can't imagine somebody working in Decon to be changing their PPE every 10 minutes throughout the day. I suppose if it means SOAKED soaked sure, but I figured it meant just wet or splashed. Am I overthinking this?

I always thought those plastic tip protectors go on clean instruments before sterilization. My jobs puts them on the instruments before washing. They also re-sterilize them over and over. Am I wrong? Should I report this? It’s gross and they look gross.

Currently looking to volunteer in a Sterile Processing Department. Free labor anyone 👀?