New Educator: Where Should I Start?

What goes into a competency? (Fig. 1)

That will depend on your definition of “. . . all aspects of sterile processing. . ..”¹ It will include required knowledge like the OSHA Bloodborne Pathogens standard², worker safety information including, but not limited to a) fire exits, b) extinguisher locations, c) ergonomics, d) chemical safety, and e) the SDS. You’ll need them to be competent in the required skills for the sterile processing area including, but not limited to a) decontamination, b) instrument inspection, c) packaging, d) IUSS, etc. Each machine or piece of equipment (e.g., ultrasonic, automated washer, cart washer, sterilizer) in the department will need to have training and each department will have specific competencies for their unique situations including, but not limited to a) robotics, b) high-level disinfectants, c) tracking software, and d) patient-care equipment.

There are some great resources on The Joint Commission’s website if you’re looking for help on creating competencies; for example, the Staff Competency Policy.³

Training

Another important responsibility will be to ensure proper, comprehensive, and documented training of your employees. This will include your competency documentation, but you’ll also need to oversee the actual hands-on training of new techs and ongoing training of your existing ones.

Does the educator do the actual training of new technicians themselves?

As much as possible, sure, but more than likely the answer will be no. As a new educator, I was overseeing three separate 24-hour-a-day sterile processing departments and routinely had training occurring at each location. There was no possibility (outside of an expensive and morally dubious cloning process) for me to be at each location on each shift training new technicians. I always tried to be there for them on their shift for week 1 of training, then I passed them along to a trusted senior “preceptor” for the remainder of their hands-on. The most ideal situation would be to have the time and resources available to be there for the full training; however, in the real world of sterile processing, this is quite rare. I would recommend weekly check-ins with the trainee and preceptor to track progress.

I like to keep my trainees on a schedule (Fig.2). This ensures that you’re eating that elephant one bite at a time (still gross) and not overwhelming the trainee with information. Remember that sterile processing is a complex operation with thousands of instruments, devices, and accessories, each with unique care, handling, safety, and processing instructions. So, allowing the new tech time to digest and process this information at their pace will be vital to their success. I had a 13-week schedule for brand new techs (new to the sterile processing field), and a 6-week training for those already certified coming from another facility.

For ongoing training of staff, I used a bi-weekly cadence to keep them competent and current. We reviewed standards, instructions for use (IFU), and competencies every 2 weeks. If it seems too intense to create education every 2 weeks, you can also utilize your vendor partners who will be more than happy to provide education and training to your staff on their products.

Work Instructions

Lastly, I would advise creating work instructions for each task in the department. This is an important step to create a unified training program in your department. One of the most common complaints techs have with their training is that Employee A showed them one way and Employee B showed them something different. Work instructions help fix that problem by having one written and documented “right” way to do something. For example, a work instruction for flexible scope cleaning might say:

1. Perform dry leak test.
2. Ensure the water cap is attached and secure.
3. Place scope in sink filled with water until scope is completely submerged.
4. Perform wet leak test.
5. Etc.

The work instructions won’t include the specific list of instructions found in each respective scope’s IFU, but rather a general list of the common tasks. Other examples include manual cleaning, insulation testing, daily air removal test (DART) testing, etc. Techs will still need to follow each instrument or device IFU but it will help them to know a generalized way to complete everyday tasks and a reference point to keep everyone consistent.

I hope that helps give you some places to start!

In summary:

1. Start with safety concerns.
2. Create competencies.
3. Develop your training program.
4. Write work instructions.