Special Edition on Sterile Processing Imperatives Special Edition- Sterile Processing Imperatives | Page 13

‘acceptable.’ Damaged/nonfunctional
instruments, drills and endoscopes can
become the norm and patients will be
Often,
put at risk. Without good data, effective
technicians
protocols and processes cannot be built
to ensure compliance.”
have only
The situation emphasizes the need
been shown how to do
for hands-on education and training.
something, but never had
“I believe that our technicians really
the ‘why’ or the science want to do good work, and I believe if
behind it explained.” they have the proper training, tools and
time to do the job correctly, then they
— Patricia Taylor, CRCST, will indeed do good work, “ Berg says.
CIS, CHL, CFER “We are, however, dealing with human
beings and mistakes can and will happen. We must acknowl-
edge them and address them promptly or they can fester
and lead to a cascade of future trust and process problems.”
“Often, technicians have only been shown how to do
something, but never had the ‘why’ or the science behind it
explained,” says Taylor. “They need to have the knowledge
behind why it’s important to never skip any steps and to
never assume an instrument is clean just because it doesn’t
look dirty. There is so much that you can’t see in our jobs.
Technicians may assume a lumened device is clean because
water comes out the other end, for example. They need to
understand that proper brushing will remove more than
what just a flush of water can do. Not brushing or not taking
instruments apart can lead to bioburden or biofilm being left
behind, which can cause serious infections.”
Teresa Young, CRCST, CER, CHL,
BLS, scope coordinator at Eskenazi
Health in Indianapolis, Ind. and a
Without
member of the IAHCSMM board of
directors, says there is a direct cause
proper
and effect between a performance fail
training and
and the requisite education needed
education, technicians to avoid it. “I have seen situations
can be forced to guess on where bioburden was discovered on
Young says. “In exploring
the job.” instruments,”
the cause, it was discovered that proper
— Teresa Young, CRCST, lighting contributed to the problem.
CER, CHL, BLS Technicians need workstations with
lighted magnification to inspect properly
for bioburden and damage. Education problems are also
common and because of the difficult roles and responsibilities
sterile processing professionals face on the job each day, it
can be difficult to retain employees. When SPDs can’t retain
quality technicians, that places more burden on the remaining
seasoned professionals in the department. In most cases, those
remaining individuals often won’t have the time to educate
and train new technicians. Some facilities have educators,
but they may spend more time in the OR than in the SPD.
Without proper training and education, technicians can be
forced to guess on the job – and you can’t have guessing in
sterile processing. We need to take time to properly educate
our staff and I also believe certification should be required
for anyone working in the SPD. Ideally, I believe SPDs should
have a dedicated educator on all three shifts, not just the day
shift. If you stop and think about it, the blunt end of cases
falls onto the second and third shifts.” 
Q
& A
Expert Roundtable
Sharing additional insights are our experts:
Damien Berg, BS, BA, CRCST, regional manager of sterile
processing for UC Health in Aurora, Colo. and immediate
past-president (2019-2020) of IAHCSMM
Bob Marrs, CRCST, CIS, CHL, vice president of organi-
zational development for Beyond Clean
Brian Reynolds, CRMST, CRCST, CIS, CHL, CER, assistant
chief of sterile processing service for the West Palm Beach
U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs
Patricia Taylor, CRCST, CIS, CHL, CFER, clinical supervisor
for central sterile at MHP Medical Center in Shelbyville, Ind.
and a member of the IAHCSMM board of directors
Tony Thurmond, CRCST, CIS, CHL, central services
manager at The Christ Hospital in Cincinnati, Ohio, and
2019-2020 IAHCSMM president
Marjorie Wall, MLOS, CRCST, CIS, CHL, CSSBB, a sterile
processing director for a large health system in California
Teresa Young, CRCST, CER, CHL, BLS, scope coordinator
at Eskenazi Health in Indianapolis, Ind. and a member of
the IAHCSMM board of directors
HHM When breaches in protocol happen, can they be
attributed to a knowledge gap or an implementation
gap, or both, and why?
Bob Marrs (BM): Yes, and yes. This is a self-perpetuating
problem often caused by a lack of capital. We hire folks as
cheaply as possible, often not requiring previous experience
or training. When we do this, it typically comes with sacrifice.
You cannot pay someone a nominal wage, provide little to
no real training and expect them to perform at a professional
level. The lack of capital can be seen in antiquated and
outdated equipment.
Brian Reynolds (BR): It’s doing what you have to do
with the tools that are given to you. Having decisions made
about the instrumentation by others who do not know what
it all entails and having to make it happen day in and day
out without complaining or whining just using what we
have and fighting for the patient in hopes that you will get
the budget to one. Acquire more instrumentation. Maintain
your staff and keep highly educated and knowledgeable
people with the budget that you have.
Patricia Taylor (PT): I believe that requiring certification
for sterile processing technicians is essential to having a
good understanding of the job and the processes that go
into it. It requires good education to understand things
such as biofilm and biological monitoring. If technicians
don’t understand the ‘why’ behind the process, then the
importance of all they do is left out of the job. It’s vital that
technicians understand that everything they touch also
touches the patient.
Marjorie Wall (MW): I believe it’s both. We expect
sterile processing technicians to mentally retain how to
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