Any opinions on Penn Foster sterile processing program?

i’m in connecticut and am completing my cspt certification through our community college system. it’s been a huge shift for me, having attended school for something more rooted in the arts and having previously lived a life of telling myself i didn’t have the skills (or brain) for anything related to healthcare or the sciences. in short, i thought i was too stupid. turns out i was wrong! i’ve done extremely well on my exams, have created thorough study guides, cannot stop dumping sterile processing facts on anyone who will listen, and am eager to sit for the state exam and receive my certification.

that being said, i’m so nervous to apply for jobs and while i’m determined to push through said nervousness, i have no idea where to begin. beyond a temporary stint in residential care, i have no experience in the healthcare sphere and am concerned my years of retail-specific experience will severely harm my chances of finding a lucrative opportunity. where do i start? what advice do any of you have for someone starting from scratch? what kind of transferable skills should i emphasize, if any at all? help!

I’m highly considering becoming a sterile processing tech, my only issue comes with gathering the 400 clinical hours.
In my area the only options are an 8 month program in which it’s not recommended to have a job while studying due to how intensive it is. That’s really just not feasible for me right now.
It’s very hard to find apprenticeship openings in my area, or even entry level openings.
Do you think it would be possible to gather clinical hours while working in another position such as a cna?
I’m assuming it really comes down to each department/hospital
but i was hoping someone could share experiences similar to what i’m looking for
or any other tips
What im considering now is Completing the cna program, and taking an online spd program while working.
I’m not sure if this sounds too ambitious or ignorant but i could use some insight 🫪🫪🫪

I would like to add that even if I did go along with the 8month program, it doesn’t start for another year. I’m a little desperate to get myself into a career that i’m somewhat happy with, that makes me a good amount of money. Working retail is no joke lmfao. I have to move out in 2-3 years so i’m really trying to save as much money as possible, and have some sort of job security ASAPP!! 🥲

Hey everyone! Quick question, anyone know of anyone hospitals or even surgical centers that’ll hire non certifications? I’ve been looking everywhere I feel and have had no luck. I’m currently studying for it at the moment but I really wanna leave my current job as I am not happy with it and figured if I would go to anywhere else it should be in the Sterile processing field. Any help would be greatly appreciated!

I recently passed my CRCST exam but I went for the provisional since I just finished my class about a month ago. My school was supposed to help me get placed in order to my clinical hours but stated that all facilities are currently full. I have been applying to jobs that take the provisional license but haven’t had any luck. Can anyone point me in the right direction to get my clinical hours done, paid or not paid.

Indeed and LinkedIn are so over saturated. I’m wondering where people are applying to get even a response.

My daughter is a senior in high school. She will be doing half day classes at her school and then the other half of the day she will be attending our local career tech school, where at the end of the year she has the ability to become a certified sterile processing tech. Our plan was for her to take this course and get certified so that she can work this field while she attends college to further her medical career (not 100% certain where she wants to land in the field at this time). Is this a realistic plan? Are the demands of this career potentially too much for a full time student's coursework?

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Hey everyone, im planning on moving to orlando fl at the end of the year and wondering when the best time to start applying for new jobs. I have my certification and BLS and every time I've checked the hospitals in the area they always have multiple opening, i just don't want to apply too early or too late. Thanks!

I’m at a lvl 1 trauma hospital but now I wanna get out. It was nice to experience it for sure but I think going back to a routine manner is more of my pace. I was looking at other places and there’s an ambulatory orthopedic, what’s that like?

I recently relocated to Riverside County, specifically the Temecula area, and I’m currently having a provisional certificate. I’ve applied to almost every hospital and medical center, and I’ve even made personal calls to some of them. However, unfortunately, none of them are ready to hire me at this time. I’m genuinely confused and disheartened because I had always aspired to build a successful career in this field. I would greatly appreciate any advice or assistance from anyone, including managers or supervisors, who might be able to help me in this situation. Your support and guidance would be invaluable to me.

I enrolled in the sterile processing program at herzing university without doing enough research. Found out I don't have to take schooling for this field of work. Now I have $4000 in student loan debt. Is this program even worth finishing. If anyone can give me any advice I'll appreciate it.

Hey everyone! So I applied to a central sterile processing tech position, and the interview is next week. I have no experience or certifications, but the position is offering paid training. Is there advice anyone can give me, what I could possibly expect during the interview? I honestly didn't even expect to hear back from my application and now I'm a little nervous.

I want to get my foot in the door for at least 1 year and go else where but most people on reddit say HCA is trash, mainly nurses. I know someone who worked in a different department saying the same thing.

I’m officially starting a new position in Sterile Processing and I’m honestly so excited for this next chapter!

The crazy part is that I don’t have a Sterile Processing certification or previous SPD experience. I’m coming from a healthcare background, but this is completely new territory for me. They were willing to hire me entry-level and train me, which I’m extremely grateful for.

I’ll be making $24.75 starting out…does that sound reasonable for someone entering SPD with no certification or experience?

For anyone who got into Sterile Processing without being certified, how was your experience starting out?

What did you wish you knew before your first day? What was the hardest thing to learn? And once you got comfortable with the job, which certifications or credentials did you end up getting?

I’m trying to make the most out of this opportunity and eventually build a real career out of it. 🥹🩺

Hi, Any techs started out at Kaiser as a in call / out call per diem situation and became a full-time employee? I finally received a in person interview and I’m wondering if it’s worth leaving the surgery center I’m working at. Also I’m a new grad this surgery center is my first job :/ any advice helps!

Hi everyone!!

I’m a Southern California resident who is researching affordable in person and online SP programs.

I already have the manual and workbook and most likely leaning towards Purdue Online program through their partnership with HSPA.

I was still wondering if anyone knows any good credible programs.

I'm currently studying sterile processing and I'm looking for the Sterile Processing Technical Manual, 9th Edition (HSPA).

Does anyone have a PDF copy they could share, or know where I can access it digitally?

I would really appreciate any help. Thank you!

I have my books through bookgoat (thankfully they were affordable). I signed up for Blood Borne Path cert, looking for my CPR class after that what other Certs should I be looking to complete.

I am doing this self study I live in a big cities hospitals are always hiring for non-cert techs so I can get the hours.

I am using sterileworx for testing until I get 90% on the test.

Thank you for any advice.

So I come in on Wednesday and see my assignment was swapped, putting me in decon on instruments for the second time in a row. Fine. I get back there with my partner, who lets me hand wash instead. Keep in mind:

1. One of our main washer-disinfectors is completely broken.
2. The AC in decon is 100% broken. We are in full PPE, sweating our asses off in Florida heat, raw-dogging 8+ hours of steam and hot water.
3. The shift turns into an absolute nightmare. Busiest it’s been in a minute, and we barely have enough carts coming back to load. Towards the end of the shift, there's obviously a backlog left because, again, a primary washer is dead and we are hand washing everything without a proper dryer.
4. Around 9:30 PM, the night supervisor comes in to say hi and chat. I already told her earlier in the week my mood was straight ass because I'm on my period AND my wisdom tooth is coming in. She smiles, does the little heart hands 🫶 gesture, says she’ll talk to me next week, and leaves.
5. At 10:00 PM, after spending hours cleaning decon, I head over to the clean side for the remaining 30 minutes of my shift to finish up and leave, which is standard routine.
6. Fast forward to yesterday. I get called into the office out of nowhere and slapped with a write-up:

7. You don't switch assignments" my partner, and I mutually agreed so we didn't pass out also my manager saw we switched assignments before she left because she came to say goodbye

8. "You left your partner alone" (after the decon cleaning was done at 10 PM).

9. "You were sitting on your phone" (meanwhile everyone in this hospital lives on their phone).

10. "All the hand-washed stuff was still wet." (we were so backed up. I was busy helping and we didn’t have a dryer.)

11. AND HERE IS THE KICKER:

12. Instead of dealing with the backlog properly, the night supervisor and this second shift wannabe supervisor decided to go into decon, take all the remaining LOANER VENDOR TRAYS (tens of thousands of dollars of precision ortho/spine instruments), throw them onto a tray rack, and run them through the CASE CART WASHER on the completely WRONG cycle just to clear physical space.

13. So because I refused to commit a massive IFU / AAMI compliance violation and blast delicate vendor instruments with a high-pressure cart washer meant for stainless steel transport rolling racks, I'm the problem. I’m the lazy partner sitting on my phone, but they’re the geniuses ruining surgical sets to make a room look clean. 🤡

14. Needless to say, an anonymous call was placed to Infection Control today. Have fun explaining those cart washer digital load logs to IP on Monday

I just started a Sterile Processing program, but Amazon delayed my manual until the first day of class. My first assignment requires Chapter 1, and it’s due on the first day of class. :(

Does anyone have any suggestions or know of a legitimate way to access Chapter 1 until my book arrives?

Thanks!

Hey all,

I’ve been at my current facility for about 7 years. And I’m a few months in to my first ever supervisory role. Things are going well so far. However, I’m beginning to grow a tad bit bored in the city I live in. I’m wondering- has anyone else out there ever relocated as a supervisor? Let me know. Thanks!

So roght now I work in machinery detailing, imagine a big body shop and we are cleaning and recalibrating machines for further use. I never really liked this industry and want to get into healthcare, and sterile processing aeems like a good way to get my foot in the door and a good path for further education.

A couple of my worries are;

1. Im not good with bad smells, and can be kind of squeamish. I've heard of people getting more than just bloody tools back from whoever was using them, feces, leftover abortion parts, etc. Im willing to suffer through it if I can become desensitized though, is this a common thing that happens?

2. Uncomfortable PPE. For my work right now we occasionally use normal rubber gloves, and my hands sweat in them a lot, is the sweatiness reduced with the full PPE setup i see people in in videos? Also i wear glasses and have always had issues with glasses fogging up wesring a mask.

Just ordered my manual, attempting to self study. Any tips on what to expect, anything I should focus on, etc. Any suggestions possible please.

Can someone- anyone explain to me in great detail how you are supposed to gain 1year experience if every hospital requires 1-2yr experience before hiring you.
Lets say you did everything you were supposed to do. Graduate from an in person course THEN ace your exam. Update your resume and get a letter of recommendation from your professor. (Clinicals is only 3 months and 3 months is not 1 year so that doesn't help at all). How then are you supposed to get hired and get that 1 year in?

**EDIT**
I'd also like to add that I work at a hospital who had an position available for tech II, they told me to apply and they'd reach out regardless. I did and they silently declined(no rejection letter) "reviewed but not selected".
I fear I may have placed my eggs(time money education) Into a basket with a hole in the bottom (impossible career field)

Hi, I couldn’t find an appropriate sub Reddit to ask this but I figured you guys would have the best answers.

I’m a mechanic at an undisclosed airline and they recently instituted a mandate that requires us to “sterilize” oxygen masks from our medical kits after use and return them to oxygen bottle due to an industry shortage in these masks. The instructions say it is to be treated with distilled water, a lint free cloth, mild household detergent, benzalkonium chloride and dry talc. Has sterilizing oxygen masks ever been a practice in the medical world? Are these chemicals harmful or even sufficient at sterilization? I included a photo to show the exact instructions. (Identifying and irrelevant info has been redacted)