The path to becoming a sterile processing technician is fairly simple. After completing your high school diploma, you must complete the course and training for sterile processing. Upon completion you’ll be awarded a certification that verifies your eligibility for this practice. You can register for a sterile processing course at any institution that offers it; these institutions are usually community colleges, training schools or libraries. Before anything, however, you must make sure the venue you’re seeking your qualification from is licenced to give out this training.
Once you’ve acquired the skills and training necessary you can proceed to taking your exam through the International Association of Healthcare Central Service Material Management and become a certified technician.
Training Options[/b]
There are different avenues to getting into this field; you can explore your options and decide which option is available or best suited to you. Some students enroll in a sterile processing school or training programs, and others opt for online courses while some are given on job training. What’s necessary is that you develop the skills required to pass the sterile processing exam and obtain certification. Only then you can officially build your career in this field. For some working as a sterile processing technician is a starting point and they continue gaining more skills and experience to move on to higher and more advanced job positions.
There are many skills a sterile processing technician learns when he enters into this field. Usually, training schools educate students to handle various critical safety tasks that enable them to assist in the health care sector. Students also gain a detailed understanding of Infections and illnesses and how they can spread quickly. This in itself highlights the importance of sterilization.
Controlling Infections[/b]
Practically training in this field, technicians learn techniques through which infections are controlled.They’re taught to keep hospitals and other medical facilities clean and shielded from germs and bacteria. Courses in sterile processing training also provide a background in microbiology, which aids in understanding how to overcome the infectious spread of germs and diseases.
Many schools ultimately guide their students toward jobs and careers and how they can secure jobs in hospitals and clinics. They’re committed to helping their students pursue sterile processing as a career and be able to go even further with exams and certifications.
Where can a Sterile Processing Tech Work?[/b]
Sterile processing technicians do not face a shortage of jobs as their expertise is needed in any place where patients are present. Their presence isn’t just limited to hospitals, but clinics, outdoor facilities, dental offices, first-aid rooms on campuses, surgery wards etc. The main advantage in becoming a sterile processing technician is that you become qualified to be part of the healthcare industry in a relatively short period of time. You get paid a good salary and depending on who hires you, you can even have a good range of benefits granted to you.
The job of a sterile processing technician is such that it continues to stay in demand. Performing sterilization with precision is a crucial task which ensures the safety of patients and protects from contamination. A sterile processing technician skilled in cleaning specialized equipment and managing their maintenance is the backbone of the sterilization industry. In addition, he/she also manages the inventory, distributes orders (surgical accessories required by doctors) and stores and processes equipment and materials.
There are quite a few job titles in this field that sterile processing technicians secure as per their job description:
? Central sterile processing technician
? Sterile processor and distributor technician
? Central processing technician (CPT)
? Central service technician (CST)
? Surgical processing technician