Join Decypher and make a direct impact on the health and readiness of America’s service members, veterans, and their families. Since 2008 Decypher has offered healthcare industry professionals careers where their expertise is valued, and their work makes a meaningful impact. Decypher partners with the Defense Health Agency to deliver professional services, technology, and management solutions. Our mission is to provide and support quality care for our veterans, servicemembers and their families, across the United States.
Job Summary: Sterile Processing Technician receives, inspects, decontaminates, and sterilizes reusable medical devices and surgical instruments using appropriate cleaning methods and sterilization processes, ensuring proper assembly, labeling, packaging, and storage in compliance with instructions for use. Monitors sterilization effectiveness, verifies instrument functionality, prepares specialty trays and case carts, and uses sound judgment to fulfill routine, special, and emergency supply requests across clinical areas.
Required Qualifications:
- Education: Completion of a central sterile supply training course.
- Certifications:
- Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR)
- Certified Registered Central Service Technician (CRCST)
- Experience: At least two continuous years' experience within the last four years as Sterile Processing Technician. Shall be able to read, write, speak and understand English well enough to effectively communicate with all staff members.
U.S. Citizenship is required
Key Responsibilities:
- Perform basic principles of microbiology as they apply to medical supply operations, related to the resistance of microorganisms to external destructive agents such as heat, chemicals, and ionizing radiation.
- Provide knowledge of aseptic principles and techniques including characteristics of various detergents, cleaning techniques, sterilizing mediums, sterilizer operation and tests that determine effectiveness of sterilization. A thorough knowledge of packaging, storage and shelf-life characteristics.
- Execute knowledge of the use, operation, assembly and disassembly of surgical instruments, medical devices, and specific cleaning, sterilizing and storage requirements of each.
- Provide a basic understanding of medical and surgical terminology.
- Apply judgement as required when selecting cleaning methods and sterilization mediums, placement of instruments in trays, and substitution of items for missing supplies. Judgement is required to resolve minor problems with equipment. Prudent and experienced judgement is required in emergency situations whether to use less desirable or more costly processing to make available urgently needed supplies.
- Employee will receive, disassemble, and inspect for damage to reusable medical devices and surgical instrumentation.
- Employee will determine the correct method of decontamination and sterilization; removal of blood, tissue fragments, body fluids, and other gross contaminants by wiping, soaking, rinsing, scrubbing and using ultrasonic and washer disinfecting equipment.
- Employees will become familiar with the operation of cleaning and sterilizing equipment.
- Examine all items after decontamination/ pre-sterilization procedure to ensure that gross contaminants have been removed and that instruments function properly.
- Employees will properly label and identify medical devices and surgical instruments for the Main Operating Room (MOR), Labor and Delivery (L&D), ward, and clinics.
- Employees will assemble and prepare the full range of specialty trays and instrument sets for the MOR, clinics, wards, and L&D for proper sterilization utilizing inventory sheets.
- Employee will select the correct wrapping or packaging material for medical devices and surgical instruments.
- Employee will select the correct sterilization process according to the IFU (Instructions For Use) for the medical devices, either Hydrogen Peroxide (STERRAD and V-Pro), Ethylene Oxide (EO) or Steam sterilization processes.
- Correctly label and seal wrapped items with appropriately with proper sterilization tape.
- Employee will monitor the operation of the sterilizers using graphs, computer panels, Bowie Dick, and spore challenge tests (biological).
- Employee will ensure the technique of gravity displacement, and cycles for specialty items.
- Employees will receive sterilized trays/loaners, instrument sets, and medical equipment from the sterilizer, checks for integrity of sterilization, i.e. (color changes on the indicator tapes, external indicators, dampness of packages); stocks and properly stores sterile items in the appropriate clinic areas or the sterile storage room.
- Employee will assemble and properly completes case cart requisition forms from the Main Operating Room. Fills special or emergency requests.
Work Environment & Schedule: 11:00am - 7:30pm (8 hour shifts). Weekend and holiday rotation is required.
Compensation & Benefits: Up to $35.50 per hour + H&W
Physical Requirements: Requires prolonged standing and walking, frequent use of hands and fine motor skills, and the ability to bend, reach, push/pull, lift, and carry medical equipment, instrument trays, and supplies. The position involves exposure to blood and bodily fluids, chemicals, heat, and potentially infectious materials and requires appropriate use of personal protective equipment, including N95 respirators when indicated.
Decypher is an equal opportunity and affirmative action employer committed to a diverse and inclusive workforce (M/F/D/V)