Author: Megan Pietura

What’s in your Management Toolkit?

Posted on by Megan Pietura

Sterile processing department (SPD) leaders face unique challenges every week. Whether it is interpreting the instructions for use (IFU) of the newest surgical device, navigating equipment failures, or partnering with the Operating room (OR) on change management programs, leaders often pivot from technical to administrative decision making throughout the day. Having a trusted tool kit at the ready prepares leaders for the unexpected. While the situation may be unique, the solution may be closer than you realize.

 

#1 – Your Network

Networking provides many benefits to leaders. Professional networks provide alternative perspectives, tangible resources, support, and valuable industry insights. Having contacts throughout the industry allows leaders to think beyond the walls of their department and inject creativity into their problem solving. It also provides a community to turn to for support and guidance.

Many departments are facing similar challenges, and having these connections keeps a leader from feeling siloed. Why solve a problem if a leader right across the street may already solved it and is willing to share?

A well-rounded network should include:

  • SPD technicians & leaders
  • Infection prevention
  • Operating room & ambulatory clinical staff
  • Strategic planning
  • Quality & safety
  • Facilities
  • Vendor representatives

 

#2 – Standard & Guideline Resources

Standards, guidelines, and policies all have their place in healthcare; sterile processing is no different.
Factoring in all the required standardized templates and forms can quickly turn into information overload for leaders. Creating quick access links to the most frequently used resources can help reduce the stress of digging through various files and pathways to find what you need.

Resources may vary depending on facility requirements; some key ones to include when building your tool kit might include:

 

# 3 – Continued Education

In the rapidly evolving world of healthcare, continued education plays a crucial role in leadership development. Understanding the trends and advancements within the industry allows leaders to proactively approach changes and plan accordingly.

Continued education comes in a wide variety of platforms and formats. While incorporating continued education into the busy schedule of a healthcare leader might take some strategic planning and creativity, being armed with the latest information and resources positions both the leader and their team for success.

Topics a leader should consider when choosing continued education might include:

  • Standards updates
  • Infection prevention
  • Medical device advancements
  • Leadership
  • Emotional intelligence
  • Instrument tracking software
  • Data & analytics
  • Financial planning

Formats for Continued Education that are popular include:

  • Webinars
  • Local chapter meetings (HSPA, AORN, SGNA, etc.)
  • National conferences
  • Podcasts
  • Online courses

 

Conclusion

SPD leaders are tasked as being subject matter experts in sterile processing for their healthcare facility. Developing and maintaining the tools and skills necessary to confidently teach, support and advocate for their team and the patients they serve is critical to the success of their leadership.

 

Interested in adding a few more tools to your Manager Toolkit? Check out these blog posts:

Luminosity Requirements in Instrument Reprocessing and Inspection

Posted on by Megan Pietura

Medical device inspection is a required step in both decontamination and prep & pack. Along with magnification and the recommended borescope inspection, there is one other important resource: Lighting. Often placed in areas of the hospital with minimal or poor access to natural light, sterile processing departments often feel as though they’re poorly lit, and they often are. ANSI/AAMI has provided guidance on the measure and quality of lighting that sterile processing and endoscopy departments should have.

 

Guidelines on Lighting

ANSI/AAMI ST79 and ST91 both detail guidelines for lighting, as well definitive illuminance for given work areas and functions, according to the recommendations by the Illuminating Engineering Society of North America (IES).

Work area/function Least Illuminance Average Illuminance Highest Illuminance
General Inspection 500 lux

(50 foot-candles)

 750 lux

(75 foot-candles)

 1000 lux

(100 foot-candles)
Detailed Inspection 1000 lux

(100 foot-candles)

 1500 lux

(150 foot-candles)

 2000 lux

(200 foot-candles)
Sink Areas 500 lux

(50 foot-candles)

 750 lux

(75 foot-candles)

 1000 lux

(100 foot-candles)
General Work Areas 200 lux

(20 foot-candles)

 300 lux

(30 foot-candles)

 500 lux

(50 foot-candles)
Processed Storage 200 lux

(20 foot-candles)

 300 lux

(30 foot-candles)

 500 lux

(50 foot-candles)

*See table in ANSI/AAMI ST79:2017 (4.3.8 Lighting) and ANSI/AAMI ST91:2021 (3.3.5.6 Lighting).

 

These lighting recommendations are not one-size-fits-all. Three considerations need to also be accounted for when assessing the optimal illumination of a working area in a reprocessing department:

  1. The age of the employees working in the space. Employees under the age of 40 require the least illuminance, while older employees above the age of 55 require the most, with those 40-55 requiring an average amount of light in their working area.
  2. Speed and accuracy of the work being done in the area. Work requiring high accuracy and speed, or that is otherwise deemed critically important, requires more illumination.
  3. The amount of light reflection in the work area. Lighter materials will reflect more light, meaning darkly colored materials will require additional lighting to achieve optimal inspection conditions.

 

Hindrances to Lighting Outcomes

The location within the facility isn’t the only hinderance when it comes to lighting quality. Many factors can contribute to poorly lit sterile processing or gastroenterology departments:

  • Obstructions: Shelving, equipment, or materials at sinks or tables can block light sources meant to illuminate the working area. The shadows cast by these obstructions make it difficult for technicians and nurses to properly complete tasks and inspect instruments.
  • Adjustability: Many lighting solutions utilized in decontamination and prep & pack do not offer the ability to adjust brightness. This can lead to inadequate lighting in areas with low reflectivity surfaces, or too much glare in areas with high reflectivity, causing eye strain.
  • Reliance on overhead lighting: Departments relying solely on overhead, ceiling-mounted lighting solutions are likely to have inadequate illumination in many working areas. These lights are easily obstructed not only by shelving, equipment, and materials, but by the technicians and nurses themselves. Further, overhead lighting isn’t always rated for high-illuminance tasks and working areas.

 

Conclusion

Lighting is a concern many SPD and GI departments struggle with, but it doesn’t have to be. ANSI/AAMI standards point to specific luminosities for various working areas, with consideration for employees’ ages, nature of work, and reflectivity of the working environment in mind. Addressing some common challenges, such as removing obstructions, implementing adjustable lighting options, and lessening the reliance on overhead lighting, are easy ways departments can start improving their lighting conditions.

 

Looking for ways to brighten up your department? We’d love to help!

A Sterile Processing Department Without Borders

Posted on by Megan Pietura

A Look into the Life of an SPD Tech on the Global Mercy®

For more than 40 years, Mercy Ships™ has provided hope and healing to the world. By deploying a fleet of hospital ships staffed with hundreds of volunteer professionals, ships like the newly minted Global Mercy® can write the stories of children like four-year-old Amadou. Amadou was the first patient to receive surgery on the Global Mercy, receiving corrective procedures to fix a windswept leg and one bowed leg. Today, Amadou can enjoy the same joys of childhood as his peers thanks to the volunteers dedicated to the Mercy Ships mission.

One unsung hero of this remarkable mission? Oliver Etcu, a sterile processing technician from Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. A department manager for over 14 years, Etcu now plays a critical role in delivering care to underserved communities as part of the Mercy Ships sterile processing team.

We have the privilege to interview him and understand the operations in a sterile processing department aboard a ship, docked in overseas waters, staffed by selfless volunteers. Here is a glimpse into his life.

 

Q: Why did you choose to work on Global Mercy?

A: “It is a great way to give back; by using the skills and abilities gained over the years in my profession to make a lasting impact and bless those in need. This is also where my previous experience with implementing instrument tracking systems was most needed.”

 

 

Q: Tell us about a typical day reprocessing on Global Mercy.

A: “The most common cases will be a bit different in each country; we are trying to meet the greatest need in that region. For example, in Sierra Leone we will not be performing women’s health surgeries as this need is met by a clinic on land.

A typical reprocessing day will be very much like a western land-based department.  Thanks to very generous industry partners we were able to outfit the department with similar equipment. The department is open from 0800 – 2200, Monday to Friday, with an on–call schedule during the weekend.

The typical day will start with a team huddle, quality assurance testing of the reprocessing equipment: ultrasonics, washer/disinfectors, heat sealers and sterilizers. Then distribution of reprocessed items and pick-up of soiled items to / from the wards. The bulk of the time is spent reprocessing the operating room instrumentation from 10am until close.”

 

Q: What makes working on the Global Mercy different than your previous sterile processing roles?

A: “The sense of purpose and calling among the crew, the camaraderie and friendships that are formed. And the short commute to work 😊. [The most rewarding part of my job is ] the ability to live, play and work alongside great professionals from across the globe while fulfilling God’s calling for my life.”

Q: Why did you choose a career in sterile processing? Why do you enjoy working in sterile processing?

A: It’s a long story… at that time it boiled down to the length and cost of education in the field. It’s a decision I never regretted. Also, the ability to work from anywhere.  Sterile processing technicians are needed in most facilities where patient care is provided.

 

Q: What are some of the unique challenges that come with working on a floating hospital?

A: Tight living quarters, tight workspaces, logistics, shipping / supply disruptions.

 

Q: How can other sterile processing professionals contribute to the mission of Global Mercy, outside of working on the ship?

A: By fundraising and raising awareness among their families, peers and at their facilities.

 

Want to contribute to the Mercy Ships mission? Consider making a donation today!

Q: How do you work with Sierra Leoneans and the local population? Can you elaborate on the partnerships and teamwork aboard the Global Mercy?

A: We work closely with our Education, Training and Advocacy team that often partners with organizations like SPECT (spectrust.org) to deliver Sterile Processing courses in our host nation. After the completion of the classroom portion of the course we then mentor the participants in our department on the ship. At this link Sterile Processing to Ensure Safe Surgery – Mercy Ships you will find an example of our recent involvement in Dakar, Senegal; we will strive to provide a similar opportunity in Sierra Leone as well.

 

Insights and Advice

For those considering joining the sterile processing team on a Mercy Ship, our interviewee offered invaluable advice. The impact of your service goes beyond the medical procedures—you also transform your own life. The chance to witness the change in patients’ lives firsthand and to embrace the ship’s culture is an experience that defies the norm.

“Allow yourself to be immersed in the ship and host country’s culture. Take advantage of any opportunity to meet the patients and witness the transformation in their lives firsthand. As Dr. Park said it: ‘What seems like a crazy decision, will be one of the most rewarding and most memorable experiences of your life.’”

 

Our interviewee left us with one parting comment: “Being involved in meaningful work, building lasting friendships and the opportunity to travel to unique and beautiful locations [is the best part of the Mercy Ships™ team.]”

 

There are no borders when it comes to access to life-changing care and medicine. The Mercy Ships organization has broken barriers to both healthcare access and education for resident citizens.

 

Looking to participate in the Mercy Ships program as a sterile processing technician? Learn about the HSPA Foundation’s paid scholarship, here!

Want to learn about the reprocessing sinks used in the Global Mercy’s decontamination department? Learn more here!

Sterile Processing Training and Education Best Practices

Posted on by Megan Pietura

In August, we brought our Voice of the Customer panel together to delve into a topic that SPD professionals across country identified as top-of-mind in our 2023 SPD State of the Industry Report: Training & Education.

We collaborated with Gene Ricupito, Sr. Project Manager, Sterile Processing at UCSF, to further explore SPD training and education best practices.

 

Frequency

A key component to a successful training & education program is frequency.

  • Annual: Training and education to support and maintain competency is required to be completed on an annual basis per the Joint Commission.
  • Monthly: Teams should be supported with in-services monthly to keep themselves well-versed in their instrumentation. This also applies to in-services associated with equipment used by technicians throughout the department.

 

Reviewing and Revising

Ricupito states that all training and educational materials in regular use within a department should be reviewed and revised at least annually to ensure accuracy and relevance.

Further, Ricupito explained, revisions need to be made whenever a device changes, is replaced with a newer model, or when a new instrument or piece of equipment is introduced to the department. The best way to ensure this happens is to have a pre-existing process that’s able to flag a needed revision to a manager or educator.

On its surface, the idea of a system that flags the need for revisions may seem like a process that’s too good to be true, but Ricupito has a solution that any department can implement: when a piece of equipment is being replaced with a newer or updated model, have the vendor issue a no-charge quote resulting in a no-charge purchase order. No-charge PO’s are able to serve as the trigger for inquiry into whether training or educational resources need to be updated, or if an in-service from a vendor needs to be scheduled.

 

Retention

Retention is a critical aspect of any training and education program. All the training and education in the world won’t make any difference if those being trained and taught are unable to retain the material presented to them. Ricupito expanded on the discussion we had with our VOC panel with a few suggestions to ensure retention:

  • Regular competency checks: Annual competency checks are fine, but the minimum required. Conducting competency checks more regularly can help to identify and address retention concerns early.
  • Find coachable moments: Actively engaging your team on a frequent basis within the department can help create coachable moments; opportunities to ask team members whether they’re struggling with anything and addressing it on the spot. These coaching moments offer a glimpse into where training and education retention issues may be bubbling up across the department.
  • Ensure uptake: Some technicians will avoid uptake, meaning they are intimidated by a certain topic, instrument, or piece of equipment and actively avoid obtaining the knowledge to master it due to its complexity. Ricupito encourages managers, educators, and team leaders to identify uptake aversion and address it head on, determining the root of the insecurity related to the topic, dispelling it, and helping the teammate achieve an understanding of it.

 

Credibility

With an abundance of sterile processing training and educational materials available on the internet, determining which resources are credible and worthwhile can seem a daunting task. Many videos, for instance, come from well-intentioned, but unverified parties. If you don’t validate an educational resource before it’s presented to your team, they could become misinformed or pick up bad habits you don’t want in your department.

Here are a few tips to help verify resources to use in your department:

  • Vendors: Vendors have taken on a very active role within sterile processing producing and delivering training and educational materials that departments can trust. And while in-services are a prominent aspect of the training vendors offer, it’s not the only game in town. Many vendors offer CE’s and other educational tools that departments can use for free.
  • Applying knowledge: Ricupito pointed out that the best way to verify the credibility of a training or educational resource is to sit down and watch it yourself as an educator or manager. As an expert in the field and leader of your department, you’re able to determine whether the content is credible.
  • Collaborate: Managers and educators can also collaborate and assess materials together, discussing whether the training material adequately covers what they need in their department, as well as the credibility of the source.

 

Conclusion

Training and education is a top issue in sterile processing at the moment, and adhering to best practices can help departments make the most of the resources used in their department. A few key items to keep in mind include:

  1. Frequency and regularity are key. Conducting annual competency training and assessments helps keep your department up to speed (and in compliance with TJC), while monthly in-servicing keeps your team operating efficiently.
  2. Review and revise. It’s important to review and revise training materials regularly as well. Updating it when changes or new devices are implemented is key, and coming up with processes to ensure these updates happen is important.
  3. Retention is required. Ensuring that your team is retaining what they learn from training and educational resources is vital for training efforts to be effective.
  4. Verify the credibility of training materials. There’s a lot of resources available to you, leverage your vendors, your knowledge, and your educator/manager counterpart to determine what to use in your department.

 

Interested in free CE’s for your team? Check ours out here!

 

About: Voice of the Customer Committee

The Voice of the Customer Committee is a panel of healthcare and instrument reprocessing professionals who have graciously donated their time to share their expertise and guidance on current challenges faced by the instrument reprocessing community. Through sharing their insights, experiences, and best practices, we have been given the opportunity to share these findings with our readership. We’d like to thank our VOC members for their outstanding input and insights, as well as their time! Thank you for your continued partnership, and all you do.

 

Effective Education: Various Teaching Methods to Incorporate in SPD

Posted on by Megan Pietura

In August, we brought our Voice of the Customer panel together to delve into a topic that SPD professionals across country identified as top-of-mind in our 2023 SPD State of the Industry Report: Training & Education.

We collaborated with Beth Rayfield, Director of SPD at IU Health, to further explore what our Voice of the Customer panel had to say about training & education.

 

Digital learning – Opportunities and Pitfalls

One common practice among many VOC members is the utilization of digital learning methods, and with good reason. Digital learning, such as vendor resources, videos, and structured e-learning courses provide departments several benefits, including:

  • Asynchronous learning: Gone are the days of needing to align the schedules of people across teams, shifts, and departments. Digital resources allow departments to deploy learning opportunities in an on-demand format, fitting into the nooks and crannies of employees’ availabilities.
  • Cost-effectiveness: The reuse factor of digital resources means that departments save a considerable amount of money and time per use compared with having an educator facilitating the course.
  • Onboarding: Digital resources do not vary from use to use; they provide a consistent experience each time they’re used. Coupled with their on-demand nature, digital training resources contribute to a streamlined, consistent onboarding experience for every teammate.
  • Reception: Rayfield pointed out that younger team members are very receptive to, and often prefer, to use digital training tools.

 

Despite they’re wide-ranging benefits, though, digital resources do have their downsides as well:

  • Approval: With so many digital resources available on the internet, there’s a lot to choose from. Determining what’s valuable, credible, and worthwhile can be a challenge. Departments that don’t have the bandwidth or resources to create their own digital learning tools often rely on online tools, but verification and approval can prove to be a time-consuming challenge.
  • Creation: Departments that want to tailor their training and educational resources come across a separate challenge: creating the content themselves. The coordination and effort required to accomplish this can be off-putting to departments that might not have the technical knowledge or in-house familiarity with content creation tools. Outsourcing can also eat up precious budget with notable opportunity costs.
  • Questions: Interactivity with digital tools can be severely limited. While exams and digital tools can be created to offer interactive elements, asynchronous learning generally doesn’t afford the learner the ability to ask questions and seek clarification from a subject matter expert.

 

Hands-on approaches

Some technicians find that having processes and activities explained to them doesn’t cut it in terms of obtaining a complete understanding of the information being taught. It’s one thing to be told how to separate scissors, it’s another thing entirely to do it yourself. Rayfield explained that there are two key approaches to helping leaners get hands-on experience:

  • On-the-job: As an SPD Director, Rayfield has been in several different SPD leadership positions, and in each one of them she enabled staff to learn while working. When a technician explains that they are struggling with how to disassemble an instrument, or complete a certain step of an IFU, for instance, encourage them to spend time getting it down. It may mean a little less gets done that day, but it provides the opportunity for the technician to truly develop a more complete understanding of how to complete the task, setting them up for future success.
  • See one, do one, teach one: To achieve and demonstrate a comprehensive understanding of something, Rayfield has her members of departments see one, do one, and teach one. This allows the information to be explained to the team, get hands-on and do it themselves, and ultimately teach it to others, demonstrating mastery of the topic.

 

Conclusion

There’s no shortage of training and educational resources available to sterile processing departments. Finding the right mix of methods for your team can be a bit more challenging. Mixing and matching some of these options and finding good resources to consistently turn to can help get your team the training and education they need to thrive at work.

 

Interested in free CE’s for you and your team? Check out these free options!

 

About: Voice of the Customer Committee

The Voice of the Customer Committee is a panel of healthcare and instrument reprocessing professionals who have graciously donated their time to share their expertise and guidance on current challenges faced by the instrument reprocessing community. Through sharing their insights, experiences, and best practices, we have been given the opportunity to share these findings with our readership. We’d like to thank our VOC members for their outstanding input and insights, as well as their time! Thank you for your continued partnership, and all you do.

Obtaining Training and Educational Resources for SPD

Posted on by Megan Pietura

In August, we brought our Voice of the Customer panel together to delve into a topic that SPD professionals across country identified as top-of-mind in our 2023 SPD State of the Industry Report: training and education.Gene Ricupito, Sr. Project Manager, Sterile Processing at University of California San Franscisco (UCSF)

One of the most challenging aspects of addressing training and education concerns in sterile processing is acquiring the resources to provide to your team.

We collaborated with Gene Ricupito, Sr. Project Manager, Sterile Processing at University of California San Franscisco (UCSF) to dive deeper into this topic.

 

Determining what resources to use

Figuring out what resources you want to use to achieve your training and educational goals can be tricky. . An abundance of material is available to choose from or create. The first action Gene takes is conducting an assessment to determine general competency of his team.

“Does it tell me I have a high performing, low performing, or average performance workforce. That’s going to inform how rapidly I need to take action.”

With an understanding of your team’s competency understood, the next step is to incorporate your department’s larger strategic goals to ensure that the training and educational tools you deploy develop your team in support of achieving those goals.

“It’s like that old saying about skating to where the puck is going to be, not where it is right now.” Gene explained.

Ricupito recommends creating a 2–3-year training and education plan that informs the resources you’ll deploy. A few examples to consider:

  • “Our department is expected to grow significantly, I need to make sure I’m giving key team members the ability to develop leadership and management skills.”
  • “We’ll be taking over scope reprocessing after this project is completed, it’s important to get a few teammates trained up on scopes.”
  • “The facility’s robotics volume is expected to go up this year, the newer members of my team would benefit from additional in-servicing to make sure we can keep up.”

As you identify the goals of your department, you can determine which resources will best serve your team’s needs.

 

The most valuable training and educational resources

Most departments have a mix of resources they leverage for training and education. Ricupito and our VOC panel identified the resources that they consider to be most valuable to include:

  • Source materials: Having the source materials, such as print and digital versions of ANSI/AAMI standards, Joint Commission requirements, as well as manufacturer’s Instructions for Use (IFU) for equipment and instruments can help teams easily reference and reinforce their knowledge of them.
  • Vendor-created resources: Vendors have created and made many digital videos and courses available. These are some of the most popular, especially in departments without dedicated educators.
  • In-services: Ricupito emphasized that the most impactful way to keep teams trained on instrumentation and equipment is to have vendors come onsite for in-person in-services. This allows teams to ask questions and get clarity.
  • Physical/Hands-on workshops: Allowing teams to handle and learn about equipment and instruments in a no-pressure environment helps them familiarize themselves better when they’re not pressed for time.

Creating training and educational content in-house

There are many benefits associated with departments creating training and educational content on their own:

  • Laser focused: When developing your own training and educational resources, departments can zero-in on what their department needs. Rather than trying to hunt down several resources that cover a certain topic, educators can create optimized content to meet their department’s unique needs.
  • Trim the fat: Content created internally doesn’t contain unnecessary information that may confuse or bog down the person consuming it. In-house educational tools can get straight to the point, reducing the amount of time needed and distilling information into easily digested formats.
  • Department-specific: Training resources developed in-house can include department-specific information, such as images, diagrams, SOPs and workflows that are currently in use. This gives them a clearer understanding of how the training and education applies within the department they’re a part of.

Internally-developed central sterile training and educational resources aren’t easy to create. Some barriers to entry are associated with creating content on your own:

  • Bandwidth: Creating resources internally requires the bandwidth to do it well. If a department is unable to commit the time to developing valuable, thorough education, they’re probably better off using pre-existing ones.
  • Skillset: Educational content creation requires certain subject matter expertise that not all departments will have on their team.
  • Investment: Home-grown training materials are costly to develop. From the time an educator spends researching and building content, to the tools necessary to effectively deliver and convey the information needed, many costs contribute to the overall investment.
  • Sustainability: Once a department has committed to and executed on developing their own training and educational materials, there’s still work to be done. The resources require regular review and updating to ensure that it’s keeping pace with changes happening in the sterile processing industry.

 

While the benefits of in-house training and education resources provide significant benefits in terms of focus and effectiveness, those benefits come with a cost that not all departments can accommodate.

Making the case for more resources

Sterile processing budgets are always deliberately allocated; every last dollar is needed, and it’s often not enough. So how can you make a case to increase investment in training and education in your department?A screenshot of a scorecard for an sterile processing department.

  • Show up with data: As Ricupito explains:

“If you’re making a business case [to increase SPD budget for training and education], when you get to the decision maker, you’ve got three bullet points. That’s it, that’s all the attention you’ll get. You’ve got to be able to say ‘If I do X, Y will happen, and here’s the data to prove it.”

  • Tell the historical story: Pointing to specific quality outcomes with historical data and a good case for the positive impact of training elevates the discussion from an SPD problem to an organizational problem, adding urgency to resolving it.
  • Talk to physicians: Many in SPD can relate to the story of an upset surgeon letting the department know how they feel about a mistake. Ricupito explained that a clearer understanding of SPD by the OR, and vice versa, often contributes to mutual support of one another to begin solving problems as a team. If SPD is able to demonstrate the source of some OR frustration is rooted in a lack of training and education, there becomes an incentive for the OR to advocate for SPD.

 

Lean on your vendors

“The most successful companies serving sterile processing are the ones that continue educating their customers.”

Training and education is a tricky variable in the sterile processing equation. Most departments need more of it, but many lack the resources or dedicated educators to make it happen on their own. Enter: vendors.

Many vendors have a wide array of training and educational resources available for their customers, free of charge. SPD teams can find free CE’s, videos, guides, on-demand online in-services, and more on a vendor’s website. Further, many vendors want the opportunity to help departments out, whether it’s in the form of a live in-service in your department, or a digital one on a platform like Zoom or Teams.

Lean on your vendors to provide training and educational resources that your department needs; there’s no reason to reinvent the wheel.

Conclusion

Obtaining additional training and educational resources for your department involves many considerations. Once you’ve identified what your department needs, you’ve only just begun the process.

Some sources, such as copies of standards and guidelines for your team, allow passive reference when needed, others, such as in-house content provide immense, focused benefits, if your department has the bandwidth to take something like that on. Making the case for additional money to support training and education can be tough, but if you show up with a plan and data to back it up, you’ll have a much better shot.

External influences have an impact here, too; communicating with your OR counterparts can help shine a light the source of problems they’d like to see resolved just as much as SPD does. Finally, turn to your vendors. Get them scheduled for in-services and look at their websites for training and education opportunities.

 

Want to get the ball rolling? Explore Pure Processing’s complimentary CE offerings!

 

About: Voice of the Customer Committee

The Voice of the Customer Committee is a panel of healthcare and instrument reprocessing professionals who have graciously donated their time to share their expertise and guidance on current challenges faced by the instrument reprocessing community. Through sharing their insights, experiences, and best practices, we have been given the opportunity to share these findings with our readership. We’d like to thank our VOC members for their outstanding input and insights, as well as their time! Thank you for your continued partnership, and all you do.

Identifying Educational Needs for Your Department

Posted on by Megan Pietura

In August, we brought our Voice of the Customer panel together to delve into a topic that SPD professionals across country identified as top-of-mind in our 2023 SPD State of the Industry Report: training & education.

With standards & guidelines continuing to evolve and the complexity of instruments growing, keeping a team’s knowledge and skills relevant is a perpetual challenge. Before training & education needs can be addressed in a department, they must be identified.

We collaborated with Beth Rayfield, Director of SPD at IU Health, to further explore what our Voice of the Customer panel had to say about training & education.

 

Signs that training & education are needed

Sometimes deficiencies can be tough to spot. The quickest way to get an objective assessment of potential gaps in skills and knowledge on a team is to look at data and trends. A few examples our VOC provided included:

  • An increase or abnormally high instances of breakage: If certain instruments or scopes suddenly see an uptick in damage or breakage, there’s a chance that training hasn’t been sufficient, or that bad habits have taken root.
  • Errors: Analyzing the number of errors occurring and the devices they’re occurring with can illuminate areas of opportunity for training & education. While errors being caught in prep & pack are a good way to identify potential shortcomings in decontamination, listening to the OR about errors they’re seeing offers a 360-degree view into error rates.
  • Testing: Observing your department and testing instruments at various phases of reprocessing can offer a window into the needs of your department on a more granular level.

 

Conduct onboarding assessments

One of the best opportunities to identify whether training and education is necessary is during onboarding. Rayfield explained that in her department everyone, whether brand new to the industry or highly experienced, is given an assessment during onboarding.

Onboarding assessments provide a manager or educator with the opportunity to spot gaps in a new worker’s knowledge at the onset and incorporate resources to fill those gaps during their initial 8–12-week training period.

 

Involve the whole team

Training and education doesn’t start or end with a manager; it’s something that the whole team should be invested in, which means everyone should have the opportunity to be heard regarding training & education needs. Rayfield offered a couple ways to do so:

  • Listen to your educator: Educators have a honed eye for identifying training and education needs and putting the plan together to address them. Ignoring an educator’s advice severely restricts your department’s ability to improve.
  • Listen to your technicians: Technicians know what they need, so if they come to you asking for specific training, education, or elaboration on a certain aspect of their work, find a way to make it happen. The same need may be shared amongst others, too.
  • Create a collaborative environment: It’s tough to listen to your team if they don’t feel comfortable making their voice heard. To help create that comfort, be sure to voice your openness to hearing suggestions and fielding requests for additional training. Sterile processing is a profession that requires considerable skill and knowledge to do it effectively, and nobody is perfect. Your team should know that it’s okay to say, “I’m not sure how do this,” and know that they’ll be given the resources to improve themselves when they do.
  • Give opportunities to voice needs: Even in an environment where speaking up is encouraged, if there isn’t a good time, place, or means to say something, it won’t get said. Rayfield explained that conducting a team huddle at the beginning of every shift offers the opportunity to highlight necessary information about tricky instruments that are likely to be coming through and open the floor for the team to voice potential training needs.

 

A good test: understanding the ‘why’

Finally, an effective way to proactively identify areas of opportunity regarding training & education in a department is asking your team to explain the ‘why’ behind specific tasks and activities.

It’s easy to tell a teammate that something needs to be done a certain way, but if they don’t understand the reasoning behind it, there’s a good chance that steps are being missed. In the event a technician is unable to provide the ‘why’ behind an activity or step within an IFU, it should be noted and followed up on with other members of the team.

 

Conclusion

Training & education is a vital component of keeping a sterile processing department effective, and patients safe. While there are various ways to identify whether additional training & education is required in your department, there are few key things to keep in mind:

  • Look at the data: Oftentimes, insufficient training will manifest itself if quantifiable ways, such as error or breakage rates.
  • Observe your department: Walk the floor and observe your team at work.
  • Communicate: Keep all lines of communication open. Be available to answer questions and listen to what your team has to say.

 

Looking for additional insights on training & education? Check out all our Reprocessing Reports on training & education!

 

Interested in diving into what SPD professional across the United States and Canada are seeing in 2023? Download our 2023 SPD State of the Industry Report!

 

About: Voice of the Customer Committee

The Voice of the Customer Committee is a panel of healthcare and instrument reprocessing professionals who have graciously donated their time to share their expertise and guidance on current challenges faced by the instrument reprocessing community. Through sharing their insights, experiences, and best practices, we have been given the opportunity to share these findings with our readership. We’d like to thank our VOC members for their outstanding input and insights, as well as their time! Thank you for your continued partnership, and all you do.

2023 SPD State of the Industry Report Insights: Staffing & Retention’s Impact on Productivity

Posted on by Megan Pietura

Pure Processing’s annual SPD State of the Industry Report was recently published, and with it came many insights into the challenges departments across the country are facing. Among the top concerns identified by participants was staffing & retention. Staffing & retention challenges can have wide ranging impacts on departments, but one that almost any technician would point to right away is productivity.

 

Report Findings

It’s often not a single question that delivers insights into a problem. It’s a series of responses and data that, together, paint a larger picture. Throughout our 2023 SPD State of the Industry Report, various responses and data points helped highlight a couple industry trends.

Most important problems to solve

The most important problem participants believed needed to be solved in departments was staffing. It was closely followed by pay & benefits and equipment.

 

What technicians enjoy about working in sterile processing

Playing a role in patient safety & care, having a variety of work, and the importance of work were the top three aspects of working in a sterile processing department that participants pointed to.

 

Why technicians leave departments

Lack of appreciation and physical demands of the work were the top two reasons cited for why technicians leave departments.

 

The Impact of Being Short-Staffed

Being short-staffed can lead to a myriad of problems in SPD; the amount of people on an SPD team doesn’t change the volume of trays they’ll see on any given day, and the work needs to be done diligently to ensure patient safety. A short-staffed department can take a hit on productivity in several, cascading ways:

  1. Workload: The first, most obvious, challenge when a department becomes short-staffed is that the workload per team member suddenly goes up. With a smaller number of people handling the department’s standard volume, throughput will naturally go down, causing backups and delays.
  2. Quality: To counter the increased workload and attempt to avoid getting backed up, many departments will aim to speed up their reprocessing time on an individual basis. Unfortunately, this often leads to shortcuts being taken, or mistakes being made.
  3. Mistakes: A short-staffed team is more likely to make mistakes while trying to keep up with their case load volume. While trays may push through decontamination more quickly, mistakes found in prep & pack, or worse yet, the operating room, lead to a second round of processing, doubling the work required, wasting a tremendous amount of cumulative time.

 

Improving Staffing & Retention

From these insights in the 2023 SPD State of the Industry Report, as well as the impact that staffing & retention has on departments, a couple suggestions to mitigate short-staffing impacts might be as follows:

  1. Solve & prioritize the important problems: Fighting for improved compensation for your team and identifying the right equipment that not only helps your team do their job, but do it more effectively and improve ergonomics, will help you hold on to great teammates for longer.
  2. Hire the right people: When looking for new team members, find people that find value in helping others, as well as those that enjoy a variety in their work. Sterile processing is a perfect fit for individuals with altruistic values and multi-tasking abilities.
  3. Show appreciation: A top reason technicians leave is because they don’t feel appreciated for all that they do. Demonstrating the importance of your team’s work, coupled with a few investments to reduce strain and the physical burden of work, can be significant in demonstrating empathy and care as a leader.

 

Conclusion

Whether it’s staffing & retention, training & education, injury prevention, or future challenges, the 2023 SPD State of the Industry Report is revealing important information for SPD professional across the United States. Using its results to improve your department can help you not only keep great teammates, but also create a culture that draws great people to it.

 

Interested in learning more? Download our full 2023 SPD State of the Industry Report today!

The SPD State of the Industry Survey is an annual, free, anonymous survey asking real sterile processing professionals across the country about their experiences, backgrounds, and challenges they face in their departments. We hope by providing access to free industry research and data, instrument reprocessing professionals can better grow, develop and improve their own departments through the experience of their peers. We are grateful for all the professionals who participate each year, and the contributions to their patients and facilities: thank you for all you do!

ST91 Compliance Success Stories

Posted on by Megan Pietura

The updates to ANSI/AAMI ST91:2021 caught some departments flat-footed. Between increasing the total number of basins, changing basin sizes, including visual inspection, enhancing magnification requirements, and more, there were changes in many portions of a scope’s workflow.

Since the ANSI/AAMI ST91:2021 revisions, departments have acted fast to remain compliant. Below are just a few success stories Pure Processing has had the chance to work on with facilities across the country.

Missouri

When a GI department in Missouri began looking for a new decontamination sink, they knew their options were limited. With a tight space allotted for their scope sink, and two windows further constricting the way the space could be used, single basin sinks felt like the only option.

When Pure Processing learned of the project and the department’s spatial requirements, it became clear that a unique solution was needed. With ST91’s two-basin requirement in mind, Pure Processing armed the end-user with documentation to present to administration knowing  that if the department had the opportunity to replace their decontamination sink, they should take the opportunity to achieve ST91 compliance at the same time.

Leveraging our ability to design custom sinks, Pure Processing visited the department to get a better understanding of the space and the department’s needs. The end result was a two-basin sink that fit into the limited space, not only adding an additional sink basin, but achieving ST91 basin requirements as well.

Texas

The basin size requirements that came with ST91:2021 created complications for a lot of existing projects. A facility in Texas was in the final stages of purchasing new triple-basin scope sinks when it was realized their 24”x16” basin sizes would not meet the ST91 basin size requirement of 30”x16”.

Because our sink basin sizes are designed to be ST91 compliant by default, Pure Processing was well-positioned to jump in and help the department out. Between existing inventory and short lead times, the project was completed on time, and went far to ensure ST91:2021 compliance.

Illinois

When a large hospital in Illinois realized they were far from achieving ST91:2021 compliance, they knew they needed to act. Pure Processing was brought in as a partner, and the results were tremendous.

Four ST91:2021-compliant decontamination sinks were installed. Each sink had three basins, achieving optimal basin count, and each basin was 30”x18”x10”, exceeding the stated 30”x16”x8-10” size requirements. Further, each sink was height-adjustable, providing ergonomic benefits and adhering to ST91:2021 recommendation.

The shift to required in high-risk endoscopes regarding visual inspection in ST91:2021 was something that many departments were anticipating, but not necessarily prepared for. Pure Processing outfitted the department with borescopes, as well as mounted magnified task lights to the sinks, ensuring visual inspection recommendations were met.

Conclusion

Despite the surprises that ST91:2021 originally sprung on many departments, departments found solace in a vendor partner who could meet unique guidelines in tight, demanding GI spaces, act quickly and keep projects on track.

Interested in finding ways to get your department ST91:2021 compliant? We’d love to help!

Looking for more reading on ST91: 2021? Read our Six Takeaways from the ANSI/AAMI ST91: 2021 Update Reprocessing Report, here.