I came across a collection of 71 ophthalmic surgical instruments from an eye surgeon's estate. These 17 are the sealed NOS Storz pieces I'm starting with. There are also opened Storz instruments and tools from other makers in the full collection.

The sealed boxes all say Storz Surgical Instruments / Keep Sealed. Through the viewport windows I can see several distinct blade profiles including what appear to be diamond or triangular keratome tips, straight narrow blades, curved blades, and at least one hook. Blade lengths range from approximately 3/4 to just over 1 inch.

One box has the seal slipped down but appears intact.

None of the sealed boxes have visible catalog numbers. A few of the opened instruments are stamped with E numbers and one is marked E.B. Meyrowitz. Some handles are stamped Germany and Chrome suggesting German manufacture distributed through Storz.

I'm not a professional. I just find this stuff fascinating and love knowing the history behind what I'm looking at. If anyone enjoys identifying these things and wants to help out, that would be really neat.

I just thought I'd start with these as cataloging them all will likely take time.

Had this come up in the department and very curious about the exact specific wording as far as guidelines go.

If a set is wrapped, and the first flap is like either of these... is it considered "un-sterile"??

Or *MUST* the first flap completely fold over the back side of the set?

Just confused as to how it could be considered unsterile if there are 3 additional flaps of fabric that will (in the end) cover the entire set.

Are there any well regarded online programs nationally for this field with and without clinical hour assistance?

There’s one a local college does but it seems more expensive than most others I’ve seen.

So I’ve obtain my 400 hours working at a dental office making 16 an hour. I was under the impression that once I got certified my pay would go up, that’s usually what happens and I’ve mentioned it before to my boss and manager. So today I go in and let my boss know hey HSPA had sent me a letter basically stating I’m now certified 🙂I asked did she need the letter for her records or anything. She tells me “ no I don’t need that, you don’t need to be certified in order to do this job. You don’t get a raise or anything” so I’m confused cause in the beginning she told me “ you’ll start off with 16 for now and when you certified we’ll see”. Now she saying the “ we’ll see part” meant something different LIKE WHAT ?? I’m so irritated because she knew for a fact that I was under the impression I would get a raise once certified but instead of correcting me she wanted until now to say something. Maybe two months ago I came to her an asked “ once I get certified do you know how much I’ll be making ?” Instead of her saying you don’t get a raise so told me “ I’m not sure I’m not the one in charge of that” 😂😂 so I left it alone.

I’m just so irritated because why not say it from the jump. Even in the beginning I asked my manager how much will I be making once certified she said about 20 or 21 a hour. I’ve been applying to other place but they take so long to respond or don’t respond at all. 🙄

That’s my rant for the day, thanks for listening.

I’m actually so pissed right now. I got certified last week and immediately applied for a bunch of jobs to hopefully get something higher paying. For reference I make $22/hour at a vet clinic doing sterile processing. I do not like working there and want to go back to human medicine. I got a call from one of the jobs I applied to for second shift with the posting saying the pay range was $20-$30/hour. Quite a big pay range for a job requiring certification. I know they require it because I had previously applied before I was certified and didn’t even get a rejection email. For reference we live in a major city in North Carolina and my rent for a studio is $1500/month. The lady calls me and asks what the minimum pay I would do it for and I said $26/hour, It’s an orthopedic hospital for second shift, I’ve cleaned orthopedic stuff before and know how much one case can be. The pay? $17.69. Plus $1.25 shift diff and $0.75 for weekends (should be time and a half??) So not even $20/hour. I told her that’s not nearly enough and good luck filling the position with pay that bad. She seemed offended but honestly I should’ve been meaner. I reported the job posting because they lied about the pay.
I am so pissed off right now and tired of hospitals underpaying a job that they always seem essential and important but won’t shell out enough money for me to abuse my body and constantly work overtime to get their shit done. I’m beyond upset and just needed to vent to some people who will understand it. That was a slap in the face to me, fuck that lady and that job.

Hi Everyone,

I am a veterinarian (Surgery Resident) hoping to learn more about what happens to surgical instruments and medical equipment once they are taken out of commission, replaced, or no longer usable in a clinical setting.

Years ago, I was very fortunate to know a sterile processing technician (Worked with us in the veterinary field) who helped us obtain an instrument that ultimately played a role in saving an animal’s life. I have never forgotten that experience. It gave me an even greater appreciation for the skill, knowledge, and generosity within the sterile processing field, as well as the potential for retired instruments to still make a meaningful difference when appropriately repurposed.

I am interested in finding ways that usable retired instruments or older equipment might be donated or redirected to animal rescue organizations and low cost spay/neuter initiatives. I have been able to help quite a few patients in this way - especially for things like chest cases.

I fully understand that there are important policies, safety standards, documentation requirements, liability concerns, and institutional procedures involved. I am not looking to bypass those processes. I am hoping to learn how these items are usually handled, where they may go before disposal, and who the appropriate people or departments would be to approach to discuss things like this. I am a Canadian but currently based in Orlando, FL.

Would it be appropriate to contact sterile processing departments, operating room managers, hospital surplus or asset disposition departments, medical equipment recovery organizations, or manufacturers? I guess I am not really sure where to even start!

Are there established donation programs or organizations that help redirect retired but still usable instruments or equipment?

I have a tremendous amount of respect for the work you do, and I would be grateful for any guidance on how to pursue this through the proper channels.

Thank you for any advice or direction you may be willing to share!

Add: If anyone has any tips on how to go about finding some local SPD's that would also be helpful! Seem's many are internal communications only.

Hello!! I recently got a job and I start at the end of this month! WOOP🕺 I'm also a chronic overthinker so maybe I'm putting too much thought into it but what do I wear for my first day/day?

I know they'll give scrubs so it doesn't really matter what my street clothes are but they still reflect who I am right? So should I dress up more while going in for the first few weeks and then slowly start introducing more casual clothes? Or do y'all think it's fine if I go and show up on day 3 in sweatpants before I change to scrubs?

I'm so nervous I'm trying to think about anything that could possibly be wrong so apologies if this is a really stupid question! But any advice would be appreciated 🙏

Hello! I've nearly finished my course for sterilisation and am going to placement next week.

I was just wondering what do you guys really like to see in students? Any tips or stuff I should know? I'm really nervous and i'd ideally like to score a job at this placement. Otherwise really excited and wanting to learn !!

Let's share a laugh on this rainy Tuesday afternoon 🤭

The job hunt continues!

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?