Preparing The Tools

Sterile service technicians sterilize and pack the instruments needed for surgery, obstetrics and other patient care areas.

By Nancy Giguere, Star Tribune Sales and Marketing

Last update: June 14, 2009 - 8:54 PM

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Training In Sterile Processing

Although many technicians are trained on the job, some employers prefer to hire individuals with formal training. Locally, Minneapolis Community and Technical College offers a 10-credit program. Graduates are encouraged to sit for a national certification exam. Learn more at www.minneapolis.edu

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Matthew Deiman was working in retail, and though he had been promoted to manager, he didn't find the job satisfying. Then a friend told him about an opening for a sterile processing technician at Woodwinds Health Campus (www.woodwinds.org) in Woodbury.

He'd always been interested in healthcare, so he applied and was hired. "It was the best decision I've ever made," Deiman says. "Now I like going to work. I really want to be on the job."

Patient Safety Starts Here

Sterile service technicians process instruments needed for surgery, obstetrics, emergency services and other patient care areas. After each procedure, instruments and supplies are collected and sent to the hospital's sterile processing department. Disposable items are discarded, and reusable instrumentation is cleaned, inspected, packaged, disinfected or sterilized.

Instruments that are not heat- or moisture-sensitive are placed in packages or rigid container systems, before the steam sterilization process, which is the primary sterilization method. Delicate rubber and plastic instruments are sterilized by different sterilization processes.

The sterilized items are stored on shelves. Each day, technicians assemble tools and supplies needed for various procedures on "case carts," and deliver them to the OR. "It's a rewarding job because you know that your care and efforts are important to the prevention of infection," Deiman says.

Deiman, like many sterile processing technicians, was trained on the job. "The standards are high because patient safety starts with us," he says.

A Foot In The Door

While working in sterile processing, Deiman learned about surgical technology. "Surg techs" help set up instruments in the OR, pass them to the surgeon during surgery, and clean and restock the OR after the procedure.

Deiman is now earning a two-year degree in surgical technology at Rasmussen College (www.rasmussen.edu), while continuing to work the evening shift in sterile processing. "This job has really opened doors for me," he says.

Nancy Giguere is a freelance writer from St. Paul who has written about healthcare since 1995.