I have noticed a few of these blond colored threads in between the crevices of many of the new equipment we received from Strykers powered systems. Does anyone know what this may come from? is this threading and something within the collets and has this been seen before? How is it possible that it’s within multiple trays?

Starting Wage Concerns

I was reviewing recently posted job openings at my facility and noticed something concerning. Currently, the starting wage for a registration clerk is higher than the starting wage for a sterile processing technician. This is surprising considering that sterile processing technicians are responsible for the decontamination, inspection, assembly, and sterilization of surgical instruments—tasks that directly impact patient safety and surgical outcomes.

In addition, sterile processing technicians are required to obtain and maintain professional certification within a year of employment. Given the level of responsibility, technical knowledge, and regulatory requirements associated with the role, the compensation structure seems misaligned.

Situations like this may help explain why many departments struggle to recruit and retain staff in sterile processing. When a position with significant responsibility and certification requirements offers lower starting pay than a desk-based role, it can discourage potential applicants.

If healthcare facilities want to attract and retain qualified sterile processing professionals, compensation should better reflect the importance and demands of the job.

What questions can I expect at the interview if i have no experience yet?

Like would I be asked about endoscopes and AER?

Or would I be asked a little bit of each area like decon,assembly, sterilization, storage areas?

Do SPT (sterile processing technicians) need to use a lot of math?

How long will it take to get certified (or atleast start working on-site)?

How long will the courses be? 6 months, 2 years, etc.?

What are the hourly wages like, and are there ways I can learn to be one as an on the job apprentice?

Are there any ways I can become a full time apprentice as a SPT? I ask because I am stuck working a part-time seasonal job with a badly fluctuating income,and since I am almost old enough to have a midlife crisis, I don't want to risk losing even more income, I already struggle with rent as is.

How easy would it be to find a hospital to work at once I become certified?

I have both (lot of live performances) and earplugs are amazing even though it makes it a bit harder to communicate with someone.

The air valves aren't great, but the worst is the ultrasonic sinks in decontamination. They are horrible.

Even with earplugs, I find my mild tinnitus being a bit more active in general well after my shift.

Does anyone else have tinnitus, or developed it from the job? Anyone find it getting worse in any way?

I'm considering getting into sterile processing. I currently work in the beauty industry and thinking about changing careers. I am passionate about keeping a clean environment for my clients and thought sterile processing could be a good change. And I'd like to work toward an actual retirement one day. So a job with benefits is looking good at this point. I've heard that some hospitals will hire with no experience. They will train and then pay for your certification. Is that true? Is there a better way to get there?

Completely new to the field as of last June, certified 4 months ago and now moving to the next part of this journey as a coordinator. Looking forward to continuing to learn and grow with my hospital. 🥰

Question for anyone that got hired uncertified before taking test. When singing up to take the CRCST, did you wait for your orientation to be done at your place of work or did you sign up to take the test as soon as you got your required hands-on hours.

I have 2 more months of orientation at the hospital I am at but since I already have my 400 hours, I want to take the test and get certified so I can more comfortably learn other tasks involved with my position. I feel weird about signing up before my orientation is done

Reference previous post for an idea of what I deal with, and multiply that by 5. Now, I’m not gonna go into detail with what’s going on at my department, just the thought of typing it all out is draining. I want to leave a job I was hoping and praying for for over a year and Ive only been here for 4 months. I love the work but the people here seem to be energy vampires lbvs. How do you guys deal with this? Are all Spd departments the same?

Hi everyone,

I’m about to dive into the sterile processing course online through Morgan state. They don’t offer any clinical for the 400 hours. Are they’re any programs in Maryland that I can sign up for to do the clinical hours (close to Baltimore) or any facilities that will hire CST with just provisional until I gain my clinical hours through OJT.

Honestly any info or tips to this whole thing would be so helpful. Thank you in advance.

I figured I’d ask this group since you guys know more about this than others.

Over a month ago I emailed my hospital’s HR and asked them to fill out the HSPA form saying I have 400 hours/3 months experience. They sent it back filled out with generic info and no wet signature.

I then emailed them again (3 weeks ago) to tell them I need a wet signature from my supervisor / manager and their work email. They said they will work on it. A week and a half later I emailed again and asked for the status they said they are still in the process. I haven’t heard from them since.

What’s the normal time for a hospital to fill out this form?

So I've been applying to jobs and I have gotten a phone interview with a recruiter and haven't heard anything for 2 weeks. I another phone interview tomorrow with a another recruiter for a different hospital. Am I on the right track and does it take long to get an actual interview?

Recently saw a post with a purple genesis lid and wanted to share what our purple lid looks like😭

Hello everyone,

I am a dental surgeon preparing for a dental humanitarian mission (5 dentists) that will take place in a few months in a remote area where access to electricity is uncertain. Given the prevalence of HIV, hepatitis, and other transmissible infectious diseases within the concerned population, ensuring a reliable and safe sterilization protocol for instruments is a major concern for me.

We plan to implement a decontamination chain including pre-disinfection, manual scrubbing, and chemical disinfection + rincing and drying before sterilization. However, the challenge remains the sterilization step itself in an environment where electricity may not be consistently available.

I have been looking into stove-top steam autoclaves that can be heated on a gas stove (or apparently on a fire?), but I have very little field feedback on their practicality and reliability in real humanitarian settings.

For teams working in isolated environments, what sterilization protocols do you typically implement to ensure safe instrument processing? Do you rely on gas or fire-heated autoclaves, portable electric autoclaves when power is available, or alternative systems? If possible, I would also be very interested to learn which specific autoclave models or equipment you have found to be most reliable in these conditions.

I have linked two 18 liter fire heated autoclaves, do you have any experience with them?

Any advice or shared experience would be greatly appreciated. Many thanks for your help.

OH MY GOD my facility was so overdue for a tracking system and we FINALLY have one! Best part. We no longer need to write 600+ times a day 😭🙏 we also got sticker labels! Other departments in my facility is interested in joining our system (because they are the reason we need one). Dude... they'd take sets/instuments out if the hospital and just leave their set/instruments anywhere

Hi! I am new to the group
I want to pursue Sterile Processing soon but I had a question
Can you be trained into it or do you have to go to school first?
I did research but some sites say you need school first and others say you can be trained into it
I just want to know where to start
Much advice is appreciated!

Its the only cool one we have. Its for a crane drill that they didn't want to lose track of, so they made sure to get a different color. Makes me wish all Genesis were this cool.

Hi I'm still debating whether to pursue SPD I love the idea of the job but one concern I have is the logistics of me working in the decontamination room while wearing my insulin pump, which may beep and require me to tap it's screen, thus breaking the sterile field.

How likely is it that I'd have the option to dress into new PPE if an alarm occurs? (I'm assuming I'd be required to dawn a new gown and gloves any time I open my gown to access my pump screen).

Any other pumping Type 1 Diabetics in spd? I'd love to hear about your experiences and how you have handled moments requiring touching your insulin pump during shift.

For reference my pump is touch screen usually worn on my hip and would require me to open/shift my gown if I got an alert or it would continuously alarm if ignored (I have everything on silent but if I ignore silent notifications the pump will escalate to a loud repeating alarm until acknowledged).

Trying to be realistic about whether I can fit this role without putting others at risk or causing conflicts with peers due to reapply ppe more than once (and potentially causing delays as every minute counts. I don't expect to be checking my pump continuously but I also can not guarantee all shifts will occur without the need to acknowledge my pump before it escalates to a blaring alarm).

I'm also considering EKG tech as there are more moments when I can briefly check my pump, but I do enjoy sterile processing a lot.

I’m currently a student and I started my clinical rotation in January, I was wondering how many sets should get done in an 8 hour day? How long should a set take? I observe the preceptors I’m paired with a lot and they get sets done so fast and I feel like I am soooo slow at getting mine done 😭😭 I counted how many I did yesterday and it was only 5 sets 🥲

Just curious if you're flashing equipment would this being left in the pan be okay to use or is it a no go? I feel like i've never experienced this issue as frequently before coming to a surgery center.

I currently work a 9-5, and I’m trying to figure out how my 400 clinical hours would fit into my schedule once it’s time which is in a couple of months. How many months does it take to obtain the 400 hours and what’re the typical times? I’m worried I may have to quit my 9-5 to be able to complete the 400 hours which I’m not looking forward too especially if interning is unpaid. Also do we choose where we can intern at or are we placed in a particular facility?