Sterile Processing Technician III

Sterile Processing Technician

Do you want to make an impact? Do you want to make a difference? Do you want a rewarding profession? If you have answered yes to these questions, then I ask you to come join our Sterile Processing Department at Banner Thunderbird Medical Center's Level 1 trauma hospital. Being part of the SPD team puts you in an environment that supports patient care and allows you to continue to grow within the Banner family. As a Sterile Processing Tech you will provide services in the decontamination and sterile processing areas. You will collaborate with OR staff to provide sterile instruments and equipment needed for operative procedures. You will be assisting with ongoing inventory of sterile supplies and equipment. In this role, you will perform duties in an independent manner with little or no supervision.

This position demonstrates accountability for operating room readiness ensuring sterile surgical instrumentation and disposable supplies are complete and ready for a procedure prior to the preceding patient leaving to the operating room. Responsible for the proper care and handling of all general and specialty instrumentation including the cleaning, decontamination, disassemble/reassembly, quality assurance, instrument identification, set assembly, packaging, sterilization, and distribution of surgical instrumentation for PeriOp Services, hospital departments, and clinics.

Banner Health's premier West Valley Level I Trauma for adults and Tertiary Care destination for all ages. Banner Thunderbird Medical Center (BTMC) and Banner Children's Hospital at Thunderbird provide a preferred destination for surgical, oncological, cardiovascular, neuroscience, orthopedic, pediatric, and women and infant services achieved through best-in-class 5-star CMS rating to provide patients with high quality, safe care for the best possible experience. Our campus is one of the largest campuses in the Banner network with over 3000 employees. BTMC was voted Best of the Best in 2023 by Banner Health out of 30 hospitals. This is the most prestigious award one of our largest hospitals can receive for consistently meeting our annual targets. If you would like to contribute to truly leading edge caring, we invite you to bring your experience and skills to Banner Thunderbird.

This position performs as an integral part of the OR team with limited supervision. Demonstrates accountability for operating room readiness ensuring sterile surgical instrumentation and disposable supplies are complete and ready for a procedure prior to the preceding patient leaving the operating room. Responsible for the proper care and handling of all general and specialty instrumentation including the cleaning, decontamination, disassemble/reassembly, quality assurance, instrument identification, set assembly, packaging, sterilization, and distribution of surgical instrumentation for PeriOp Services, hospital departments, and clinics. This position requires well manner communications and the ability to communicate effectively through reading, writing, and speaking in person.

Core functions include:

• Provides decontamination and sterile processing support to PeriOp Services, ED, ICU, hospital wide departments, and clinics both on and off campus, and ambulatory surgery centers.
• Responsible for the decontamination, assembly, and packaging of surgical instruments following established protocols, instructions for use (IFU) as well as performs required quality assurance, repairs, reassembly, documentation, sterility handling, and storage of specialized surgical instruments.
• Ability to identify interpret the surgical schedule and medical terminology as it pertains to procedures requiring sterile surgical instrumentation and disposable supplies.
• Able to differentiate surgical instrumentation that is surgery owned, consignment/loaner, hospital depart, surgeon, ambulatory surgery center, and clinics both on and off campus. Completes necessary tracking of surgical instruments with a paper log sheet or computer process for instrumentation leaving the area. Reports needed replacement of surgical instruments to maintain the inventory and support readiness of sets.
• Utilizes specialized equipment for the decontamination, high-level disinfection, and sterilization of surgical instrumentation according to the device and equipment manufacturer's recommendations and hospital policy.
• Operates various quality assurance testing equipment associated to flexible endoscopic scopes, transesophageal ultrasound probes, and electro-surgical insulation defect detector for laparoscopic and energy provided surgical instrumentation.
• Maintains a clean and safe environment by adhering to Standard Precautions and Infection Control practices.
• Maintain flexibility to rotate shifts and adjust hours as needed, maintain a work record of regular attendance, timely arrivals, and departures, maintain professional appearance appropriate to position and function.

Minimum qualifications include:

• High school diploma/GED or equivalent working knowledge.
• Minimum one (1) year experience as a Sterile Processing Technician
• Requires national certification as an SPD Technician (CSPDT) or Certified Registered Central Service Technician (CRCST) and relevant experience with sterilizing instruments which qualifies the candidate for the national certification exam or certified registration.
• Must have mechanical aptitude with the ability to break down moving parts, clean, lubricate and reassemble, problem solve incomplete trays and missing instrumentation and have effective organizational, communication and human relation skills.

Preferred qualifications include:

• Instrument management tracking system experience.
• Additional related education and/or experience preferred.