For all the merits of certification , the most notable is the potential for improving customer service and patient outcomes .
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“[ This ] is essential to provide best practice to our patients and other customers . With that knowledge , I speak with authority , I am able to teach and coach others , and I am able to promote a profession that affects every facet of patient care ,” she said . Prudent considers certification a measurement of success that serves as a baseline competency of knowledge and understanding that can grow and expand to drive improved technology and outcomes .
Advancing in the name of quality
Planning ahead for one ’ s own career growth is always a wise move , and for SP professionals , certification can help them more easily reach the higher rungs on the career ladder .
“ The time to prepare for a promotion is not when a position becomes available , but before , so when the opportunity presents itself , you are ready ,” Lind said .
IAHCSMM past-president Tony Thurmond , CRCST , CIS , CHL , who serves as sterile processing manager for Dayton Children ’ s Hospital in Dayton , Ohio , first became a CST while serving in the U . S . Air Force ; it was a role that also included serving as an SP technician . He wasn ’ t introduced to the CRCST until he was in the civilian sector , but he jumped at the chance to seek certification . “ With IAHCSMM , I had the opportunity to gain multiple certifications to help elevate my career ,” he said .
After attaining the CRCST , Thurmond found the opportunity to further advance his professional development was too good to pass up . He earned his CHL because he knew he wanted to move into a management role , and he was amazed how quickly he received unsolicited calls of interest from facilities across the country who were seeking SP managers .
In Prudent ’ s facility , a career ladder program was implemented for the department , with each certification serving as a “ rung ,” all the way through the supervisory role , which encompasses the CRCST , CIS , CHL and CER . The facility integrates the CRCST course work into new-hire shadowing and hands-on training .
For all the merits of certification , the most notable is the potential for improving customer service and patient outcomes . As Prudent points out , the mission for Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center is to “ improve the lives of those we touch .” It ’ s a mission she personally strives to perfect daily on the job . “ I cannot get there if I do not know how , and certifications are the stepping-stones to finding the way . You cannot fix what you do not know , and you cannot hold others accountable without first holding yourself to those standards .”
Julie E . Williamson is the director of communications / editor for IAHCSMM .
Healthcare Hygiene magazine invites infection prevention stakeholders from all aspects of prevention and control ( including IP / healthcare epidemiology , healthcare value analysis , quality / safety / risk management , surgical services , sterile processing , environmental services , biomedical engineering and scientific research ) to submit sciencedriven , best practice-based articles for consideration for publication . Please , no public relations pitches or articles with commercial overtones . Send your queries to Kelly Pyrek at : kelly @ healthcarehygienemagazine . com
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