Sterile Processing Technician

Program Overview

Degree Type: Certificate

Sterile Processing Technicians are responsible for cleaning, sterilizing, assembling, storing, and distributing the instruments and equipment used in patient care. Their work is critical to preventing infections, maintaining adequate inventory, and ensuring that essential departments such as surgery, labor and delivery, and emergency services have immediate access to sterile supplies. The Sterile Processing Technician Program at Southern University at Shreveport offers a Certificate of Technical Studies (CTS) that prepares students for careers in sterile processing, materials management, and healthcare distribution. The program emphasizes technical skills, critical thinking, teamwork, professionalism, and the development of a strong sterile conscience to support safe patient care.

Although national certification is voluntary, the program prepares and encourages students to take the Certified Registered Central Service Technician (CRCST) certification exam. Certification requires passing the exam and completing 400 hours of hands-on experience, which students begin during clinical rotations and may finish through employment or an internship after graduation. Students who have not completed the required hours by graduation may apply for an internship or provisional CRCST certification while completing the remaining experience requirements.

Program Mission

The Mission of the Sterile Processing Technician Certificate of Technical Studies (CTS) Program is to prepare students for an excellent route to begin a career in the health care industry, by training candidates to provide vital support to all patient care services in a healthcare facility, where decontamination, sterilization, and processing of equipment, instruments and supplies is essential. The program includes training in the management, distribution and inventory maintenance of materiels.

Program Objectives

Upon completion of this program, the sterile processing technician will be able to:

• Decontaminate, inspect, assemble, process, and sterilize surgical instruments and trays.
• Maintain documentation required by the accrediting agencies for quality control.
• Inspect, maintain, deliver and retrieve equipment and instruments for the surgery suite.
• Function in the emergency room, intensive care units, and other departments.
• Perform elementary computer procedures as they apply to equipment, supply tracking, ordering and preference/pick list generation.
• Discuss basic inventory control concepts.
• Demonstrate knowledge of medical and surgical instrumentation, supplies, and equipment in various specialties.
• Use good communication skills utilizing appropriate medical terminology.
• Maintain a professional deportment in responding quickly and accurately to urgent hospital departmental requests.
• Log a minimum of 400 hours of Central Service Technician clinical hands-on experience.
• Prepare to take the National Certification exam from IACSHM and be a Certified Registered Central Service Technician (CRCST).

Please see your advisor or University Catalog for more information.