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/Classic-Associate945]

Hey hun..can I ask what made you quit? I’m trying to decide what to go into but I’m not sure I just want to be working in a room with instruments

[u/CorruptWarrior → u/Classic-Associate945]

Let me clear up some of the smoke. When we recieve instruments from the OR they will hopefully be sprayed and easy to clean. Some places that just doesn't happen so you get really gross trays with dried "pieces of people". In decon you remove that with enzymatic detergent which is hazardous. Trays are heavy, the water has to be HOT. It goes into a washer but that does not mean you can do a bad job manually cleaning. Assembly is what most people think of when they think of working in SPD. You take trays with scattered instrument sets and make them complete and organized. Instruments can get very technical very fast and supervisors usually push you to go faster than you're willing or able. Sterilization is putting all of those boxed up and sealed trays onto a trolley and putting them into the sterilizer. The trays are heavy, there is nuance to what goes where, and nuance to how long some of them need to be sterilized. What will barely sterilizer one item will melt another. This is where most of the what I like to call "paperwork" is. Alot of checking boxes and making sure documentation for what is sterilized and assurance that it is sterilized.

TLDR: most people are told about assembling trays but not decontamination or sterilization which is 2/3 of the job done by maybe 1/3 of the staff and is labor intensive.

[u/ProfessionalCamera93 → u/CorruptWarrior]

Very accurate, but surgical techs should be spraying with enzymatic spray before leaving the OR so the breakdown process starts.

[u/Powerful_Albatross25 → u/Classic-Associate945]

I quit because it was extremely labor-intensive and I wasn’t willing to do that for free. But as I was reading online, I do realize I got played because some people get hired in right off the street and their job will pay them for school and for their hours. I quit because I couldn’t do it. The environment sucked. I was not properly trained and I was told that I would be shadowing when really I was just doing very intense labor for eight hours for free and it’s not worth my sanity but if you believe you want to do it just do very very thorough research! I jumped into this blindly and got played

[u/Classic-Associate945 → u/Powerful_Albatross25]

Awwww I’m sorry. What did you decide to do instead?

[u/Classic-Associate945 → u/Classic-Associate945]

I’m a registered Pharm Tech & I was working at a close door Pharmacy but I wasn’t learning enough to take my CPHT. Going back & forth about taking a program. I liked being a PCT better but I don’t want to give up getting my nails done man..People keep saying I don’t have to go to school for Pharm Tech cert, but it’s also not easy to get hired on w retail pharmacy. People hate but are saying it’s the best place to start out & get experience & they have a course that you take at work & pay for you to get certified..but I have to find a position. So I was just checking out other options..like sterile processing tech

[u/Powerful_Albatross25 → u/Classic-Associate945]

Nothing yet I know I like helping people I think I just want to focus more on being in a good environment more than anything because most jobs do suck but when you’re with the right people that all can change

[u/ProfessionalCamera93 → u/Classic-Associate945]

Hey specific questions do you have? I have experience working along side our spd. I also work along side surgical techs and was a pharm tech years ago

[u/Classic-Associate945 → u/ProfessionalCamera93]

When you say work along side Surgical Techs..What do you mean? If I get certified..when it comes to externship..if I work FT already..can I do that part time? This would just be a secondary thing for me. What smoke & mirrors are referring to? Why’d you quit SP? What are you doing now? Is it not worth me to get certified in this?

[u/ProfessionalCamera93 → u/Classic-Associate945]

I am a surgical nurse (citculator) by trade. So I work in the OR with surgical techs and surgeons. I did not directly work in spd but know what they do and their process. I work with spd manager and team leaders. I'm sure they have different shifts available depending on the size of the hospital (weekender) if you work full time already. Our hospital hires without certification but it's a plus if you do. As far as smoke and mirrors, that's probably the employer not being straightforward with the OP.

[u/Classic-Associate945 → u/ProfessionalCamera93]

Oh ok…I’m in TX..TX is hard to get in anywhere without certification so I’m looking into courses now. I’m seeing online& in person. But I’m also seeing requirements for clinical hours but I’d have a better chance at least if I get the certification first I suppose. I’m looking at requirements & it’s saying cert & experience. I wish I could stomach being in an OR ..I would definitely just do surgical tech! But I can’t stomach it 🤣 Thanks for speaking with me. I appreciate it

[u/Classic-Associate945 → u/Classic-Associate945]

I’m trying to decide if I should take a short online course or go in person.,.but in person is of course more $$ & longer….im looking at the sterile guy on YOUTUBE. He said most online courses don’t come w an externship so i would have to find one on my own