Becoming an Expert and Executing Best Practices the Right Way

Most of us have someone we try to emulate professionally. They are our mentors or people who have contributed immensely to their field of expertise. People who make things happen or change the way things are drastically or in a way that better shapes its original form or rocks it off the edge completely and builds anew.

Often none of see ourselves as experts, as having the ability to become one or even conceiving how to try to develop into those big shoes. However, it can happen and should. We need unique perspectives from a huge pool of talent. This talent must be diverse. People with skills that are fine tuned into a specialty complement those who are better at more global and broader experience and understandings. Sterile processing is a specialty and we need more experts in the field.

While the list of what it takes may seem extensive, I am only going to make a few suggestions to consider. The rest is up to you, because only you know yourself best! Here are a few of my ideas:

·        Assume you know nothing.

·        Surround yourself with people that are nothing like you in the field.

·        Join professional organizations and committees and be active within them.

·        Challenge and question everything told to you about the profession, principles, laws and regulations. Understand the rationale driving them now and challenge whether or not they are still applicable.

·        Start a think tank.

·        Visit many other facilities of different types. Most of our professional organizations only have members from surgical, eye, endoscopy or acute care centers and most only visit other facilities similar to their own. To gain understanding and expertise you must understand how principles apply in varied environments.

·        Write down your experiences.

·        Volunteer to help in as many venues as you are able without compromising too much of your personal time, but enough to gain sufficient reward to be of benefit.

·        Never stop learning.

You will never learn it all and that is a wonderful thing. The moment you think you know it all or more than anyone else is exactly when you have fallen behind the next round of true experts. So, I say, remember your place and before you know it you will be more respected than you might have thought possible!