Introduction
The medical industry includes technicians in sterile processing who work with other techs to sterilize, package, and dispense drugs. They ensure that medicines and other sterile items are stored correctly and packaged before dispensing by ensuring that proper processes are followed at every step. According to Indeed.com, the average salary for a sterile processing technician can make as much as $43k annually and earn an average salary of around $30K per year.
What Is a Sterile Processing Technician?
A sterile processing technician is a medical technician who designs equipment for use in surgeries and other procedures.
Sterile processing technicians are responsible for ensuring the sterilizability of surgical instruments such as scissors and scalpels by cleaning them with a disinfectant solution before sterilization. They also keep an eye on the instruments being made to ensure they’re free of bacteria or viruses that could cause infection if left exposed to air for longer.
What is the average annual salary of a Sterile Processing Technician?
According to Indeed.com according to Indeed.com, the average salary for technicians who process sterile materials is $19.69 an hour. That means you can earn between $27K to $31K per year, depending on how long you’re employed and your experience.
If you are looking to boost your earnings as a sterile processing technician, consider joining a larger organization that has more clients and training opportunities available; this increases your odds of getting promoted within the company or even being promoted to another department where there are more opportunities for growth than within one department (such for customer service).
How to Become Sterile Processing Technicians: Training and Education Requirements
To become a sterile processor technician, you’ll need to meet the requirements for education and training stipulated by your state’s healthcare facilities.
- Training: Many states require applicants to undergo an instruction program before being certified as sterile processing technicians. These programs generally last for one year and cover medical terminology, anatomy, microbiology, and many other related topics.
- Education: Candidates must take written tests covering subjects in the classroom portion of their coursework to be certified as the sterile processing technicians of every state.
The Sterile Processing Technician’s Certifications and Licensures
There is a wide range of certifications for sterile processing technicians. There are many certifications provided by the Association for the Advancement of Medical Instrumentation that include:
- Certified Professional Surgical Technician (CPSC–SCT)
- Certified Operating Room Assistant (COOR)
- Certified Operating Room Specialist (CORS)
Each certification requires you to attend an educational seminar and pass written and practical exams. The most effective way to become certified is to clear the practical and written exams in one go. However, you will lose your certification permanently if you fail one of these tests twice within five years. It’s not necessarily bad, and it just means there’s some pressure to reach this goal before it’s taken away from us!
Sterile Processing Technician Career Outlook
Sterile processing technicians are an expanding field. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics forecasts that there will be a need for approximately 17,600 more technicians in sterile processing in 2026 (a 76% growth). The BLS also predicts that these jobs should be paid around $36 an hour or more, depending on where you work and your experience level; however, the pay can differ by where and the company you work for.
There are a variety of ways to become a technician for sterilization.
- Take classes at an accredited school like https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7C4t-4YV7wQ. It’s even better if you earn money in your classes!
- Apprenticeship with someone who has already been trained by themselves or by someone who knows how it operates inside and out, so they can show you how things work before they quit their job, which is you’ll have more money coming into your account every month instead of paying rent because those apartment rentals aren’t cheap either!
Becoming a sterile processing technician is an excellent way to enter the medical field.
You will work in a hospital environment as a specialist in sterile processing. Your skills can be utilized in various settings and with different people. You can have job security with the right training and certification.
Conclusion
Being a technician for sterile processing can be an excellent way to enter the medical field. It’s an excellent way to make money while still in school because it has all the required formal education and certification requirements.
Martinson College was established to be a vital element of the industry’s ongoing struggle to improve the standards of Central Services and Sterile Processing Departments (CS/SPD) in healthcare institutions across the globe, particularly in the United States. Our objective is to educate the community about the necessity of reusable medical device sterilization, decontamination, and reprocessing.
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