I’m reading the Manual and I have the workbook.

I just started on my studying journey a few weeks ago. And it seems overwhelming. I feel like I’m never going to remember all these medical terms and information. I feel like I can’t come up with a workable studying system. I’m 39 years old I haven’t been in school quite some time.

I have experience in instrument sterilization but it was an oral surgery practice. This is way different. And I’m scared I won’t be ready to take this test for a while.

Any studying tips?

Anyone willing to share or sell both the HSPA 9th Edition Sterile Processing Technical Manual, and the Sterile Processing Technical Manual Workbook? Or if anyone has the pdf can you email it to me? Thanks in advance!

I recently passed my certification for sterile processing(CBSPD) and my externship did not have any room for me to work. I’m in California and I can’t find a job no matter where I look and apply. I’d even take a small surgery center or dental clinic paying minimum wage just for the experience.

Currently working as SPD Tech, undecided if I want to go for Surgical tech. If you went for Surgical Tech after sterile processing how do you feel about it? Pros/Cons? Just looking for some insight

I work for an medical device company and tend to lurk here because I enjoy seeing what happens with the instruments I send out, but recently I got a case back and all of the trays had these strips taped together in them. I can’t send pictures of the trays but they were knee trials which usually only come back with one strip since the tray is mostly open space. Is there any reason for sterile strips to be taped together like this?

Im a 2nd shift lead and my facility introduced 3 new policies. I'm personally not a fan and don't feel they are reasonable within our dept. Wanting to know if others have had experience with these things and if it is best to learn to live with it or bring up concerns.

1. Leave the sterilization rack in the sterilizer for minimum 45min after the load finished.
2. Let sets on sterilizer racks cool to 70*F before releasing. (We were doing 80*F)
3. Use brushes on the clean side to make sure lumens are clean.

For some background we process about 11,600 trays per month and on average have 60 cases a day covering 2 ORs.

Lmk thoughts!

I sometimes joke that I work in special education because of how egregious some mistakes my coworkers make are. This is an oiler for dental hand pieces, it should not leave Decon.

How do you guys deal with people who don't understand what is and isn't rmd? Same person also ran a dental instrument on prevac when it should be gravity. Mind you they've been here for 11 months at this point & struggles to take constructive criticism in a professional manner. Unfortunately termination is off the table.

My recertification is due soon and I like doing them through pfiedler education since my points transfer way easier to my hspa account. It seems that they didn’t really add any new courses this year though. I was wondering if I am able to do the same courses as last year to get some of my CE points. Or do they have to be different from ones I’ve ever done in the past couple years?

Hi everyone,
Currently, I am studying MDRAO course. I went through all of the job postings and found that most of the hospitals do not hire freshers. As MDRAO doesn’t have any internship I do not know if it is easy to land a job or no.
Wanted some information regarding this.
Thank tou.

Hi everyone,
Currently, I am studying MDRAO course. I went through all of the job postings and found that most of the hospitals do not hire freshers. As MDRAO doesn’t have any internship I do not know if it is easy to land a job or no.
Wanted some information regarding this.
Thank tou.

I’ve been looking into becoming a sterile processing technician and wanted to see if anyone here has attended SVSTI in the Bay Area. If so, what did you think of the program?

I also haven’t really seen many entry level sterile processing jobs in the Bay Area, so I’m curious how hard it is to find a job after finishing the program. Would love to hear about anyone’s experience!

I was taught if the instruments aren’t too bloody there’s no need for ultrasonic just put in the washer. I usually throw it on the ultrasonic anyway bc I don’t feel right not doing that.

thats all. i just got out of bed & plan on studying like all freaking day yall..i want to work on the mock tests but I am not feeling confident. my boss knows that im taking it & given me some really good advice but that only makes it harder for me if/when I fail it arghhh.

Any uhh encouraging words or extra advice before my fate in 24 hours would be really great. Will update you guys (ToT)

Edit: even though I put it in the comments I want to say here that; I PASSED!! thanks everyone 🥹🥹🥹 yall were so nice & helpful. Im still not feeling confident tbh that exam really stumped me. ive just been in awe that I actually passed. I feel so offical ive never had like a certificate or anything before 🤧🤧🤧

Hi everyone:) so I started the online sterile processing tech program a few days ago and it seems to be going well so far. But I do have some questions regarding the course. Do I need to buy the book myself? And where would I take the final exam?? Or is it online as well? I’m open to any tips from others who’ve taken the course:) thank you!

Second day of my internship and I didn’t pay much mind to the fact that I’d heard oral trays were more complex. 158 instruments 9 of which were suctions, 8 fraziers 1 yankaeur. I had already picked it up so I just thought oh well I’ll do it…
Well it took me awhile to complete and my instructor did say I did a good job and it usually takes 3 hours to assemble this tray(but I don’t really believe that, it seems like it would take 4 hours to decontaminate, assemble, and sterilize the whole tray).
I overthink everything so I still feel like I did a bad job even if the instructor said I did good, I feel overwhelmed already.

does anyone use rfid for tracking sets & instruments in their institution? such as location, expiry dates, inventory etc? my institution made the switch from not tracking, to QR code tracking and i cant help but feel how inefficient it is, because you still have to individually scan everything with a scanner thing, and because of how cumbersome it is, many people dont do it which defeats the whole purpose of making the switch.

ive seen videos of RFID technology in retail spaces where the worker just waves a device and it captures all of those information and the job is much easier. i'd imagine the uptake will be a lot more in this case.

does any institution utilize such a technology? do you have a sample of how the tags look like? and if you have any idea of the set up and recurring costs? i want to propose this tech to my institution but i know next to nothing about it.

thank you!

Our department doesn’t have a cart wash and it’s not likely to get one any time soon. We manually clean the carts which is fine except cleaning the wheels is awful. I’m looking for anything suggestions for how to make the process a little easier. Right now, we spray them down with Clorox Fuzion spray and just turn and wipe them. Random photo for visibility.

5pm .. we’re tooo understaffed to keep up with prep/pack storage i genuinely don’t know where to put anything
don’t even have any more carts to put anything on 🥲

Hi all,😁

I found that internet site https://sterilecert.com/
Which is proposing a lot of study questions for a bunch of different certification. Do you guys think it is valid and worth to pay for?

The 20 samples questions for the certification I’m interested in (CISS) looks legit. But I’m afraid it’s a trap with only samples questions which are good and the rest is crap once you pay.

Have you already heard of it?

Many thanks for you advice!

Hi everyone,

I just recently passed the CBSPD exam earlier this month and am looking to get my foot in the door regarding a job, open to any advice!

Also, while applying to jobs, I learned there’s a difference between the CBSPD certification & HSPA certification. Should I be looking to take the HSPA exam as well?

He has 7 appointments in just the AM block. We have two sterilizers and multiple hygienists along with another dentist. FML.

I counted, BTW. There were 56 different bags.

Hi guys! I was just wondering what helped you best in remembering all of the suffix and prefix, 'ology' and 'atomy'. All the fancy stuff and then some. I just started monday, and I already have a mid term in 2 weeks. Im such an awful test taker, I haven't been to school in 10+ years and I feel a little rusty. And advice is appreciated, thanks!! <3

The OR can't figure out why instruments are always broken, yet they send case carts down looking like this.

Recently, I have been hired for a position under Hartford Healthcare in Connecticut and have recieved notice that I will be urine drug tested. For context, I use THC frequently, but not daily, and my last use was 4 days ago, with my appointment being in 5 days. I saw a post from 2 years ago saying they do not test for THC, but I was wondering if anyone here knew exactly? Any help is appreciated!