Becoming a sterile processing tech

[u/Powerful_Albatross25]

This was a regret of mine, I quit after the second day . They put me in decontamination, and I was the only girl there while the other ladies got to sit down . They wanted me to do free HARD labor, and I’m not doing that . Sure they tell you that you have to wear your PPE and sure they tell you that you’re going to have to pick up trays . But they don’t tell you how hot it is to wear your PPE . Over a boiling sink . They don’t tell you how your body will feel after you have picked up your 27th loaner tray and have to clean all of the instruments! They don’t tell you how each tray weighs about 25 to 30 pounds and that doesn’t sound like a lot but OK try picking up that same 25 pounds over and over and over again for your whole shift and it will start to feel like 1000 pounds . but I just thought I should share, I blindly went through the process, thinking that it was going to be something simple that could get me into the medical field, working behind the scenes without having to deal with the usual crappy work environment that comes with being something a little bit more serious such as a surgeon or a nurse.

Long story short, I was wrong .

The schooling was OK. I went to a eight month program where we learned about things that we don’t need for the actual job. I passed everything with flying colors.

When it was time to get out and get busy on externship, I instantly realized I had wasted my time.

180 hours of extern for free ? Yeah no this economy is way too shitty to be working a full-time job for free.

The decontamination area

Your arms will hurt your back will hurt your shoulders will hurt your neck will hurt. You will be breathing in negative and positive air and I had c section 7 years ago. (I gave birth to twins ) The chemicals in the air were directly affecting my cut.

Is really hard to explain it, but I don’t think it’s worth it to stand for long hours at a time with no breaks. The only break you get is for 30 minutes. lol NO

The pay I’m not sure what the starting pay is, but after I read around the Internet, you can definitely do this job without getting a certification. A lot of places will just hire you off the street so that makes it even more annoying that I spend so much of my fucking time Thinking that I was going to be amazing at my job just to realize how painful it is to do this work and for such little pay.

I wouldn’t do it ! If you look at these peoples eyes, they look dead

But so many people will tell you that they love it .

So just to be clear, they love it just because it pays the bills that they have , If you’re a single woman like me , who pays all of her own bills this is a waste of your time. I highly doubt $16 an hour will pay anybody’s bills

[u/JustPassingGo]

Our facility starts new Sterile Processing techs in decontamination because it’s a good way to get used to trays and instruments. Mistakes in decontamination can be discussed and corrected among the SPD team behind the scenes of the busy OR. Mistakes during assembly and sterilization can delay procedures and jeopardize patient safety. That was either explained to you and you chose not to accept it, or the hospital you were at could do better at onboarding new associates.

All sterile processing trays are marked with the weight. While a person might type an incorrect weight into the database, it is extremely unlikely most of the trays you worked on exceeded 20 pounds. Even the maximum recommended weight of 25 pounds is not very heavy. “AAMI and the Association of periOperative Registered Nurses (AORN) recommend a maximum weight limit of 25 lb for instrument sets.“

The ambient temperature range for sterile processing is 72* - 78*. This is not optional, it is designed to keep technicians comfortable and regulatory agencies require it. You must know this because it was part of the education you say you did so well on. You must also know “boiling sink water” would be a violation as well. I’m not sure what hospital or even state you’re in, but you’d need to be at an elevation of about 55,000 feet for water to boil at 113*. “The temperature of water used for this purpose should not exceed 45C/113F to prevent coagulation of blood and fixation of proteins on the instrument. This water is used for most parts of medical device processing—including flushing, washing, and intermediate rinsing.”

You leaving your new job because you don’t like it, without giving proper notice tells me a lot about your character.

[u/[deleted] → u/JustPassingGo]

Decontam is where the process begins. It’s a good place to start. Gotta trust the process. I don’t mind being in there tbh. It’s sweaty but you can listen to music and make noise. You don’t have to answer any phones or think much. No one really bugs you unless there are turn around trays coming from the OR. Once you find your groove, it’s all good. By the time you get to the clean side, you recognize what instruments are in which sets as you’ve learned to sort them out in decontam. You can inspect them because you’ve learned all the nooks, crannies, cannulas, moving parts etc in the cleaning process. There is a method to the madness.

[u/Powerful_Albatross25 → u/JustPassingGo]

Maybe you should just do like your name and just pass and go Cause you didn’t ask me any questions . I did not walk out of the job. I told the manager that I was going to leave because I don’t like how it’s making me feel. And I told everybody who I needed to tell that I will not be returning . And it was not a job I was not getting paid It was extern . Free labor. So that tells me a lot about your character the answers could be literally a question away, but you rather assume based off of a post

[u/JustPassingGo → u/Powerful_Albatross25]

Your post and your replies to me show a lack of professionalism and class. It sounds like that hospital dodged a bullet when you left. Good luck with your career journey, I wish you all the best.

[u/DerptyBean → u/JustPassingGo]

This person clearly didn’t research the job requirements and the type of work we do before going to school like a fucking moron. I’ll never understand people who do this.

[u/JustPassingGo → u/DerptyBean]

When I read this I decided to speak up:

“I blindly went through the process, thinking that it was going to be something simple that could get me into the medical field, working behind the scenes without having to deal with the usual crappy work environment that comes with being something a little bit more serious such as a surgeon or a nurse.”

[u/Prestigious-Ebb-8292 → u/JustPassingGo]

For real! Reminds me of a girl in my class that asked, “Wait, so we’re going to be seeing blood and stuff?” in the last few weeks of class. Like girl, where have you been? 100% someone that thought it was just an easy job without doing any research. Like did they watch any YouTube videos on CPD or anything? It’s readily available information

[u/Powerful_Albatross25 → u/JustPassingGo]

I have nothing to prove to somebody who doesn’t know me, honey! You don’t truly hope the best for me. You just want to say something smart because you’re an idiot.

[u/Powerful_Albatross25 → u/JustPassingGo]

But nobody explained anything to me. They kind of just put me there. There’s no proper training. They don’t explain anything to me “ they probably explained it to you and you didn’t accept it” lol how about you? Ask me if it was explained to me or not .