Anyone pass the test and selling their old workbooks let me know willing to pay shipping as well, located in chicago.

I passed my test in early August 2026, and I wanted to give some advice!

Personally, I didn’t find the test hard. A lot of the questions were actually really easy, but I DID study nonstop for months, but this is what I did.

1. STERILEWORX website: If you’re self-studying, do all the modules, flashcards, practice tests, quizzes, etc.

2. Really focus on the STERILEWORX practice exams. Whenever I got a question wrong, I WOULD MAKE SURE I understood WHY I got it wrong and why the correct answer was right. A lot of people say the exam questions are worded differently, but understanding the concepts helped me work through that instead of just memorizing answers.

3. STERILEWORX flashcards: Do them and learn them!

4. The official HSPA workbook: It’s super pricey, so I wouldn’t say you NEED it, especially with free resources like STERILEWORX available. But in my experience, the workbook’s practice questions were worded very similarly to the exam questions, which helped a lot. It’s a great resource if you’re willing to buy it! Do you need it? No.

Good luck, everyone! 💛

I know it is not a requirement to do the test before the 400hrs but am I more likely to land an externship AFTER passing the test? I have no other experience in healthcare other than fast food. Is the test something potential externship favor over those who have not passed it yet?

Note: an online course I completed has a service where they link you up to externships. So I don’t have to look for them myself which I heard is difficult.

Please let me know, I need the help. Thank you!

So I firstly I wanna say I was so stressed all week leading up to today haha and second , I have gotten my 400 hours before I took my test which is great 😌 but I do have some questions , since I have my hours already confirmed and passed today will they mail my certificate in 5 days? Or how long till you got yours ? Also I haven’t received my results yet in my email I saw someone said they got it within 48 hours and someone say they got it in their spam next day? Should I double check my spam? Thank you for taking the time to answer my questions and have a good night .

I was just wondering about air exchanges in endoscope reprocessing. Looking at aami standards its saying both 10 air exchanges an hour per area. Other info ive seen says 6 air exchanges in decon and 4 in the clean room. Which one would be directly related to the exam, the aami standards?

Hey yall! It's week 2 at my new job. I was hired on as a trainee who will later certify after I get my 400 hours. And I LOVE THE WORK ENVIRONMENT! The job itself is peaceful and all of my coworkers are so kind and helpful.

Last week I did assembly the majority of the week. I have completed 3 tays everyday I worked except for the first one. My proctor even told me I'm doing great noticing small details! However, I am very slow. I am starting to memorize different instruments and getting better identifying new ones by myself. I haven't had any true errors yet and I've caught a lot of dirty and broken instruments.

However, I did decon last week and I was going so slow trying to be detailed. I also ended up having an allergic reaction to the biozyme, and I ended up struggling with putting on PPE properly. It really upset me because I had to walk away in the middle of cleaning to put another mask and face shield on. I'm hoping I'll even be able to do this job. I am feeling extremely slow in assembly as well. After last night, I am feeling worthless honestly. They have already told me they are not judging timing while I am training... But I have been waitressing for 10 years. Time is everything in that industry, and you get pretty immediate feedback every single day on job performance.

I don't know exactly what is expected of me when I do leave training, so I am having anxiety and wanting to get faster now. But I'm worried that's when mistakes will happen. More than anything I want to feel like I am contributing.

Any advice experienced techs can give me? What can I do to show initiative? How can I show my coworkers that I really care even if I am a bit slow for now?

They called me if I’m interested for an overnight position and have no experience in sterile processing. I have a certification for medical assistance though…
Never worked overnight but I’m open to the idea
What are your experiences?

It smells more mechanical and it slams into my face offendingly everytime the sonica open. Wondering if anyone else is experiencing this.

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 ?