Whether you are seeking a new career path or are a recent high school graduate, allied healthcare is an excellent industry to begin your search. Moreover, sterile processing deserves a more in-depth review as a career.

Sterile processing technicians in Southern California may be unseen in the medical community, yet they play an essential role in preventing infections and preserving hospital and clinic supplies. In this allied health profession, you will physically clean equipment, supervise autoclave cleaning, and inspect these instruments for defects and anomalies. Additionally, technicians may prepare surgical tool trays and procure supplies.

You will visit various medical locations as a sterile processing technician, from operating rooms to laboratories. While you may not be directly involved in medical operations, you see things that many hospital employees do not.

Sterile processing technicians in San Diego are crucial in patient care; thus, they are not restricted to hospitals. As certified professionals, they will be required nationwide at outpatient care clinics, dental offices, and assisted living facilities. Their skills are necessary wherever there are patients.

When you become a sterile processing technician, you will realize that there is a great deal of freedom and that you will be asked to handle duties independently. Yet, taking directions from senior staff members is a necessary aspect of the work; initiative and the ability to accept constructive criticism will help you advance.

Even if you have few or no encounters with patients, you are still an integral component of the allied healthcare community. As a sterile processing technician, you are the link between sterile instruments and the specialists using them. You will also record and examine all utilized items, so if anything is defective or not performing correctly, you will discover it before it may cause harm.

Furthermore, spending eight hours a day in a cubicle does not appeal to most people. As a qualified registered central service technician, you will go around the workplace to collect, disinfect, classify, and distribute tools to different areas. This is not a very physically demanding profession nor a passive one.

Continue reading the infographic below from Martinson College to know if sterile processing tech is in demand.