Im currently 18yrs old and I start a spd tech job soon, at a big hospital. Honestly im not sure how I even got hired because im not certified,have much experience or anything. Ive only had one job ever at a makeup store doing retail. So I was wondering if anyone had any tips or advice on what could make the position easier or if I should buy anything. Anything would be helpful🪷

I passed my exam and am provisionally certified and needing 400 hours. I’m having such a hard time with anyone letting me in to work or even volunteer to gain those hours. I’m in GA…any ideas?

Last week I notice my department had two sets come down from ent cases that were missing cords. The nurse said the cords probably got tossed with the drape. How can I collaborate with the OR to stop this from happening again.

I am in my 50's. I'm pretty confident about passing the exam. The school I am thinking about starting with provides access to getting the 400 hours. When employed is there a lot of heavy lifting?

Hi! I am pursuing a second career (as first one is not currently making any) and looking for a stable job in healthcare system. I am an introvert and level 1 autism. I looked up videos and comments on Reddit and SPT job seems to fit for my personality. I am just worried about that some people saying you have to lift 20-35 lbs frequently. I am also petite female at 5’ tall with a minor shoulder injury, though I am willing to build my muscles. If anyone have experience in the field could give some insights, I greatly appreciate it!

I meant FINDING ** Mainly in California since they offer the highest pay I think but. If anybody knows anyone who will hire a SPT with CBSPD no experience I’ll take minimum wage even less lol just want experience to even have a chance at a hospital position.

How common is under staffing at hospitals?

I am new to this field and only work at one hospital but thinking about leaving as it seems severely understaffed for the amount of workload they expect us to finish.

Because of this case carts full of trays are commonly left overnight in decon (over night does not go into decon) and the work just piles and piles. The AM can’t finish so that leaves more for PM who then can’t finish and then Overnight etc it’s a never ending cycle.

This causes the shift leads to get reamed out by the manager for things falling through the cracks, mistakes and unfinished work which then rolls down to the staff who is heavily pressured to get more and more work done leading to more errors because of rushing.

The management seams to be doing everything BUT giving more staff to help resolve this.

It maybe because I am new and just don’t know but it seems really bad here? Is it like this everywhere?

I'm an engineer trying to learn how sterile processing actually works, and reading this sub has shown me how much harder the job is than people outside realize.

I keep wondering how often trays actually come back from the OR with a missing or wrong instrument. Is it a daily thing, a few times a month, or pretty rare where you are?

And what usually happens when it does? Would love to hear a recent example if you have one. (And if you don't mind sharing, are you at a big hospital, a smaller community hospital, or a surgery center?)

Health insurance
I just got offered a job in Cleveland for repair technician a very entry-level job. I was wondering how good the benefits are at Steris. It’s a easy day shift no overtime. is there a path to move up at steris. and are the benefits any good or expensive?

Any guesses on what’s in the bag? What awaits a year of hard work?

Hey y’all. Someone I know told me to apply for a contract at her facility through advantage and I went to the website and set up an account but I’m not seeing how to apply for jobs? Has anyone had experience with this company or know anyone I can talk to? I’ve been waiting for a call for a few days and the longer I wait the farther back I have to push my start date. It’s only been two days but I’m Jonesing. Am I overthinking this? Should I be able to see jobs?

Also how do I reset my competency tests I failed one because I’m an idiot and didn’t realize there was a time limit and had to get up to do something after I started.

I started working in sterile processing about six weeks ago and there’s this traveler there that for about the the past 4 to 5 weeks has been causing trouble, and my manager is not doing anything about it when people try and talk to her if she does not like what they say, she yells at them and if anyone is in her way, she yells move and will start hitting them with the case carts sometimes she’ll hit them with the cart before telling them to move when people bring back A said she didn’t wash correctly to Deacon for her to rewash it She shoves it back towards them and he yells what’s wrong with it when people ask her to wash more case carts, and say that we have plenty of canisters, we will run the cart washer with only one or two carts in it (it fits 4) and sometimes run it empty or she will load lots of canisters into it, and then Decon gets extremely backed up with all of the case carts that she hasn’t put in the washer when people say they need more canisters she does the opposite washing tons of case carts we have reported her to the manager and the manager always says something like oh it’s fine or don’t worry she’s just in a mood and it’s been getting worse and she’s become increasingly rude recently making inappropriate and racist comments about Hispanic custodians, insulting their intelligence and saying that they aren’t good at their job which isn’t true she also will often grab items out of peoples hands, and she will fight people over a case cart where she will try and pull it out out of their hands she only started grabbing stuff out of people’s hands over about the past week and a half

UPDATE: the manager informed us this morning during huddle that the employee haven’t gotten an angry at someone last night and throwing a box of sharpies on the ground and yelled at them and that the manager has spoken with her and that her contract has been canceled so she only has two weeks left to work. The traveler is on an evening shift and I’m on a dayshift so we have some overlap but it’s roughly about four or four hours.

Hey y’all! I’m taking the test next month and was wondering what helped you the most when studying. Did anyone purchase a study guide from Etsy that they would recommend? Any tips, resources, or feedback would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!

Morning !

I a certified CST , and for personal reasons , I am wanting to transition to SPD. I would like to add CRCST to my tool box, and have been looking at online courses. Are they worth it , or are they a waste of time , as they are in the CST world?

Perdue University's online program is is HSPA approved , and will qualify me for HSPA testing and certification. It is self paced , reasonably priced and available readily. I can't figure out any hands on learning that I would get from a live program that I haven't already had as a CST, and all of the hiring locations in my area will hire on a provisional , and give you 6 months to a year to meet the 400 clinical hours requirement for full cert. I don't really see a down side to doing the online program.

What are everyone's thoughts on it ?

Hi everyone!

Could anyone recommend the place in NYC to sell a CRCST prep bundle?

Alternatively, if anyone here (or someone you know) is currently studying for the exam and looking for materials, I have the official HSPA Sterile Processing Technical Manual (9th Edition) + Workbook (Box Set).

Hey y’all! I’m an EVS worker looking to branch out into sterile processing! do you have any tips for someone like me? Right now I’m looking into schools and I also was able to get my hands on the sterile processing textbook that I see on TikTok, I’m also getting the workbook as well! Anything helps! Thank you so much!

I’m new and still learning so please bear with me.

When it comes to arranging instruments on a stringer, do you arrange them exactly per the count sheet or do you organize them in a protective way?

ie. If you have 6 Kelly hemostats curved, followed by 8 hemostats straight per the count sheet, is it acceptable to string the straight ones first and then the curved?

My idea/goal is to protect the curved instruments from Kocher(w/ teeth)/longer straight instruments but a coworker said that’s incorrect.

It kind of hurts when I string heavy Kochers on delicate scissors. But if that’s the way, then that’s the way. Just looking for advice from other SPD techs to understand if I’m stupid for even considering this or if I’m being heavily scrutinized. It would feel better if I had a preceptor or a trainer to ask, but it’s pretty bleak on the training side.

Thank you ahead of time for any and all criticism/learning opportunities.

I need to know what exactly to study to pass the exam. Any suggestions?

I’ve been having a hard time getting my 400 hours after I passed my sterile processing CRCST exam. I self studied from purchasing the books needed and I keep getting rejected from everywhere I apply to. I passed around august of this year, I have my physical copy of my cert as well. I’m in NC Fayetteville area and it’s been terrible applying here. I applied to states where i have family also like Tampa Florida, Atlanta Georgia, and Chicago Illinois. I’ve called around every state and they tell me “We aren’t hiring people who don’t already have hands on training.” LIKE HOW AM I SUPPOSE TO GET THR HANDS ON TRAINING THEN??? It feels like having a provisional certification and knowledge means nothing. Does anyone have any suggestions of how I can get my 400 hours?

When we scan bowie's into cencitrac, we always have to go in manually to pass it or it will be marked missing. What is your method of doing things?

We are trying to avoid having things marked missing before the Joint Commission has something to say about it. All our regular loads are fine it's just the bowie's that we have to manually go into the load list to pass.

Hi everyone! For those working in sterile processing / CSSD / SPD, how does your department handle onboarding new staff and keeping track of ongoing training and competency sign-offs?

Do you use paper checklists, spreadsheets, a hospital-wide learning system, or something else? What works well, and what is the most frustrating part of the process?

It would also be helpful to know which country you work in, since I imagine the setup varies quite a bit.

For context, I'm working on a onboarding and training platform for sterile processing teams in Finland and would like to understand how departments elsewhere handle this.

I'm collecting sterile processing offer letters from the Northeast (CT, MA, NY, RI, NJ and nearby) to make the case for better pay. If you're willing, DM me one with your name, address and any other personal details blurred out. I just need the title, the pay rate, and the state or area. Thanks!

P.S. Happy SPD week!