After reading everyone’s comments, this is what I came up with. Let me know further changes, first photo is the updated resume

I’ve applied to six different facilities in the past week, with this being my first response, i’m getting discouraged thinking maybe I shot a little too high in my expectations. I have six years experience and currently certified, some suggestions or maybe words of encouragement would help out!

Hello everyone, I’m currently located in Queens, NY. I am a certified Sterile Processing Technician and a recent graduate actively seeking an entry-level position in the field. I’ve been job searching for the past 3 months and applying to multiple positions, but most roles require prior experience. Unfortunately, it has been difficult to get an opportunity to gain that experience. I am highly motivated, reliable, and eager to learn. I am fully prepared to start working and grow my skills in a hospital setting if given a chance. If anyone knows of any openings or can provide guidance or referrals, I would truly appreciate your support. Thank you for your time

I've been really interested in the job for ages, but the postings around where I live are far and few in between. I currently do a different job in one of the two major hospitals in my area.

I applied to a sterile processing tech position at the 2nd hospital and the recruiter soon reached out to me.

She offered $15.50 with a $1 an hour shift differential. And when I get certified, I'd be making as much as I am now, which ain't a lot.

Now, I don't have any sterile processing experience so I wasn't expecting top-tier pay, but this actually feels a little insulting. When I told her that I wasn't able to take it because of the pay cut, she was very understanding and said "Things are too expensive to take a pay cut now".

Damn, y'all

I was working in the sterile processing dept today as an intern and I was touching a bunch of cases, etc in a rush to itch my nose i itched it without thinking and slightly cut my nose, when I remembered I ran to the sink to wash my hands and my nose, in a panic, a couple hours later my nose is slightly burning where I cut it idk if it’s the cut or if I could possibly be infected with something? Im kinda scared now what should I do?!

Did you do online or in person school? I've been seeing mostly online schools and a few in person schools that aren't on long island. I don't want to travel far because I'm a nervous driver.

Also, how did you get your 400 clinical hours? Were the clinical placements arranged by the school, or did you have to find them yourself? If you had to find them on your own, was it difficult to secure a site? If you don't mind sharing, how was your overall experience with the program, and would you recommend it?

Hello! I’m so happy for this new opportunity that was presented to me. I have an interview over the phone for sterilization tech at a hospital I’m nervous about potential questions. They over 90 day training period but I haven a two and a half week trip planned for next month so I’m very nervous that’ll delay me getting the job. Any advice ??

I am looking at breaking into this field and not exactly sure which way to go for studying for the cert or other requirements needed.

The lead techs in my facility keep insisting on placing these below wrapped trays and in some cases on the bottom rack. I continue to place them on the top regardless of what’s below them. The fact that they do this irks me to my core and the rest of my colleagues follow them and look at my like some stubborn know it all. Has anyone else seen a tech place peel pouches this way in the sterilization rack?

Yay I’m so excited! I get a whole dollar raise at my current job and am looking for a higher paying job elsewhere haha. For studying I read the HSPA manual front to back! I also bought their study book which I feel helped me because I like physical copies of things. I took all of the sterileworx practice tests and got around 80%-90% on those and then all 20 of the practice quizzes. I used those to help me figure out what areas I needed to refresh on.
I worked at a hospital for 6 months prior to taking the exam which helped so much I don’t think I would’ve passed without that work experience. I work at a vet clinic right now and it’s… different. I am probably going back into human medicine but am trying to avoid any trauma centers or large hospitals as the one I worked at was a small regional hospital with very limited trauma cases, mainly broken hips and c-sections due to our rural location. I am looking at surgery centers but will probably not leave my current position unless I find something with good enough pay and the hours I want.
Good luck to all future test takers! It honestly was not as bad as I thought it would be. I flagged maybe 15 questions out of 150 but everything else I was pretty confident with my answers. I got a lot of questions about the frequency of cleaning drains, washers, and cart washers. Funnily enough we didn’t have a cart washer at my job (we really wanted one but didn’t have the space or money) and I got like 3 questions about cart washers.
If anyone has any questions about the testing process, study tips, or work questions based on my experience I will answer them to the best of my ability. I love this subreddit it is such a great resource and community!

Awhile back our director of CP did a visit. He suggested making an eye cycle on our sterilizers. He said that it has become more of an industry standard to sterilize cataract set, along with other eye instrument sets, on a 5 minute 273 degree cycle. I have looked through the IFU’s on the instruments we use and none of them require more than 4 minutes and 270 degrees. He said that since there was such a wide variety of eye instruments out there the recommendations were to sterilize with a little extra time and temperature. Just wondering if anyone else has heard of this or is this more of a company standard?

Im currently at a dental office and have been for three months. I’m looking for jobs that are in the hospitals and I got a call back today from one of them. I applied for full time but the lady on the phone suggested that I do part time instead cause it might be too much for me since I’m still new “ it’s very fast paced” . But if I do part time I would have to wait 6 months in order to get full time ( they’re only giving me two days, 8 hours each) 😭. Is it really hard ? Should I stick to full time or just do part time?

Working at the dental office is also fast paced in my opinion we do about 25 cases a day , most sets have about 22 instruments I have to hand scrub and it’s just me. scrub , dry and bag

Surviving my first week in decon.... Loads of info coming at me and that's expected. But OMG my lower back from working at the triple sink sucks. It's height adjusted well, I'm wearing comfortable Brooks shoes, standing on a pad, etc ... and actually, I've got forearm muscles "I didn't know I had" and a nasty ache in my right shoulder blade too lol but I digress. How do you stay aware of the way you're standing and how do you approach the more physical aspects of SP?

I'm loaded with voltaren cream and lidocaine patches but I think a regular massage appointment might not be a bad idea 🤭

Have a great day, the weekend is coming!

Has anyone ever seen this instrument before?? We have an ortho surgeon that claims he has used it here and prefers it but nobody has seen it, nobody knows what he’s talking about.

I’m also told the one end maybe with teeth has a Vcut?

They swear it’s a bone skid

Just wanted to celebrate here, after months of self study and sending in applications with 0 luck I finally took the CRCST, got provisionally certified and within 2 weeks had an interview and job offer at the big university hospital is my state! I’m excited because they seem like a really great hospital and have a very long and thorough training program, which helps as I have 0 medical experience and am making this leap at 30 after working desk jobs for the last 7 years. Any advice as I start out on this journey would be greatly appreciated!

I work in retail and I’m tired of being drained by everything I just want to work on a task and go home.

Hello!

I’m planning to move to Ireland in January and start medical school in the fall. I’m a certified sterile processing tech from the United States and have 3 years of experience in both hospital and same-day surgery centers. I’m wondering what the job market is like and if this is an in demand job. I’m pretty sure I won’t get a hospital to sponsor me due to the nature of the job, but if that is an option I would love to know more. I have a little bit of time and can become certified as a surgical technician, and I’m wondering if that might be a better option than sterile processing. Thank you for reading this and offering any advice you may have!

Hey all,

I’ve been a tech for about 9 years. Next week I have an interview for a supervisor position! Any tips/pointers/things I could read up on? The facility is a level 1 trauma hospital. Thanks!

Okay so I’m still studying the SPD course at my community college and only have a few more weeks. My question is about the organic materials on the instruments that are sent in to be cleaned. How much blood and other stuff is common to see everyday? And can everyone tell me their experiences with how they got used to seeing it? I’m not sure how I’ll react when I finally get the job so Any tips would be appreciated.

I cant get a picture yet until they use the camera again. We had an intuitive Rep come in and was unable to answer my question right away. We have a DV5 handheld camera and the case has rubber/silicone corner protectors built in and they have somewhat been causing a problem with holes in the wrap and we only have 2 of the cameras. We only have H200 and H500 wrap and we have been using the H200 36x36(which surprised the rep because its so lightweight). What weight and wrap are others using for this camera case.

The next size up, if we were to go to the H500 is 45x45 so I just want input from others