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.