Sterile Processing Technicians

Working Schedule

Sterile Processing Technicians work full-time and are often assigned to night, weekend, or holiday shifts since hospitals have 24/7 emergency rooms and patients who stay overnight. 

Typical Duties

• Gather contaminated items for cleaning and sterilization
• Organize items and keep records to track what needs to be done or has already been done
• Physically clean medical instruments, devices and equipment, supplies, and other items as needed, using sanitizers, disinfectants, or autoclaves (as applicable)
• Remove biological matter and ensure proper decontamination (if needed), labeling, transport, storage, or disposal
• Follow all hygiene protocols and monitor others to ensure clean items are not accidentally contaminated
• Prepare areas, instrument trays, equipment, and surfaces prior to surgical procedures
• Deliver clean supplies to examination and operating rooms or other areas
• Maintain and operate autoclave machines; collaborate with repair technicians as needed
• Order supply inventory (such as gloves, masks, etc.), keep needed items in stock and check expiration dates

Additional Responsibilities

• Train colleagues or new hires, as needed 
• Stay up-to-date on relevant industry news, such as new virus outbreaks

Soft Skills

• Analytical
• Compliance-oriented
• Detail-oriented
• Diligent
• Integrity 
• Methodical 
• Observant
• Organized
• Patient
• Safety conscious 
• Sound judgment 
• Stamina

Technical Skills

• Expertise operating autoclaves
• Familiarity with chemicals and equipment used to clean instruments, equipment, and other items
• Knowledge of applicable supply ordering procedures and programs
• Knowledge of proper personal protective equipment usage 
• Methods for biological waste decontamination, labeling, transport, storage, and disposal
• Understanding of medical standards for sanitation and disinfection

• Hospitals and surgical centers (including emergency rooms, intensive care units, and labor & delivery units)
• Laboratories
• Nursing homes and assisted living centers
• Outpatient care centers
• Private practices (including dental, eye care, and plastic surgery)

Due to their very nature, hospitals and other medical service-related offices are exposed to a constant influx of ill patients who could be carriers of contagious viruses, bacteria, fungi, or protozoa. These germs can be easily passed through normal breathing, sneezing, coughing, touching surfaces, or direct person-to-person contact. Sterile Processing Technicians are relied upon to ensure harmful germs do not contaminate anything which might directly or indirectly come into contact with patients. 

Because they are so small, germs can’t be seen by the naked eye. Thus, Technicians must methodically and thoroughly clean everything that could potentially be contaminated. Otherwise, patients are at risk of exposure, which can be deadly in some cases. However, the ongoing sterilization processes in healthcare establishments have led to the emergence of highly resistant, highly transmissible bacteria such as Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and Clostridioides difficile (C. diff) which have evolved to survive even rigorous disinfection protocols — and can live for months on a surface! 

Sterile Processing Technicians are at risk themselves, frequently exposed to chemicals, all manner of germs, and potentially hazardous biological materials such as blood or bodily fluids. In addition, they may work nights, weekends, or holidays, which can be challenging for those with families.

Infectious diseases are nothing new, but the Covid-19 pandemic shocked many industries out of complacency. While hospitals have been flooded with patients, they have had to re-examine and strengthen infection control and environmental cleaning practices. Many patients have been increasingly exposed to “healthcare-acquired infections” in situations where they went to a hospital to get treated and wound up catching something else. Meanwhile, as workers strive to sanitize or disinfect everything around them, bacteria like Clostridioides difficile keep adapting and becoming more resistant, creating a Catch-22. 

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has stressed that healthcare institutions closely follow precautions such as “performing hand hygiene, using personal protective equipment (PPE), following respiratory and cough etiquette principals, ensuring appropriate patient placement (i.e isolation precautions) and the proper handling, cleaning and disinfecting of patient care equipment, instruments/devices and environments appropriately.” The latter, of course, falls directly onto the laps of Sterile Processing Techs, who have had their hands full in recent years. 

Sterile Processing Technicians were probably always clean and tidy people who liked things organized. They were probably always patient and calm, able to focus for long periods on straightforward tasks while paying attention to details. While they could have been “people persons” who enjoyed the company of others, they may have also been comfortable spending time by themselves, content to do things quietly on their own.