Sterile Processing Technician Curriculum

This course is meant to teach you how to navigate your Penn Foster program. You'll also learn about the structure and features of your program and some resources and study tips to help you succeed in your studies.

By the end of this course, you’ll be able to:

• Identify all components and materials in your program
• Identify ways to use Penn Foster’s helpful services and academic resources
• Identify Penn Foster’s academic and behavioral policies
• Choose effective study and time management skills

This course will give you an overview of the Allied Health field. You’ll study the history of allied health careers and what the future holds. You’ll also discover the roles available to you and the expectations your new job has for professional conduct, the skills and abilities you must possess, and the challenges of this profession. Additionally, this course has an overview of healthcare laws and regulations and the state and federal agencies that create those standards.

By the end of this course, you’ll be able to do the following:

• Describe the history of allied health careers and their roles in the future of medicine.
• Discuss the changes in the American healthcare experience.
• List the personal characteristics required to work as a successful allied health professional.
• Outline the principles of medical ethics.
• Discuss how HIPAA legislation affects medical practices today.
• Discuss how ARRA and HITECH policies are affecting medicine today.
• Understand the importance of medical record interoperability.
• Discuss how PPACA legislation affects the practice of medicine and how Americans will buy health insurance in the future.
• Describe the difference between an ACO and a medical home.
• Define professionalism.
• Explain ethics, specifically the four pillars of medical ethics.
• Know what federal and state agencies are responsible for regulating different aspects of the healthcare marketplace.
• Describe safety rules that allied health professionals must be aware of.

In this course, you’ll be introduced to medical terminology and learn the parts of various words. Then, you’ll move to anatomy and physiology to learn more about the various components of the human body and their functions, such as bones, muscles, and tissues. This lesson also covers directional and regional terms used to better describe a patient’s concerns, as well as different regions of the body. In microbiology, you’ll learn more about the parts of cells and how various pathogens cause disease. Finally, you’ll learn the math and computer skills needed to succeed in your position as a sterile processing technician.

By the end of this course, you’ll be able to do the following:

• Define medical terminology and the origin of medical terminology
• Identify the four major word parts used in medical terminology
• Discuss the relevance of medical terminology in terms of how it correlates to service quality in the operative environment and the identification of surgical procedures
• Discuss the roles of cells, tissues, and organs within the human body
• Identify human body planes
• Describe the nine major body systems and surgical operations that may correlate with these systems
• Describe microbiology and how it correlates with principles of the central services department
• Explain ways in which microorganisms can be identified
• Define bacteria, viruses, protozoa, fungi, and prions
• Explain the Occupational Safety and Health Administration's (OSHA) Bloodborne Pathogens Standard
• Identify common bloodborne pathogens found in the workplace
• Describe how to calculate and convert temperature
• Solve simple problems by applying the concepts described in the lesson
• Describe the four common arithmetic operations
• Identify the parts of a computer
• Identify the two types of software applications
• Discuss Microsoft Word and basic word-processing tasks
• Describe the purpose of spreadsheet software applications
• Discuss Microsoft Excel and basic spreadsheet tasks

In this course, you’ll be introduced to the sterile processing department and its work processes, as well as your employers’ expectations. You’ll also learn about the regulations and standards that you’ll abide by in a healthcare environment. Next, you’ll learn about aseptic technique and how infections spread. This will help you and other healthcare employees protect patients and keep everyone from being exposed to harmful infections. You’ll then go back to the sterile processing department and learn how medical equipment is cleaned, decontaminated, and disinfected. The lesson will finish with an introduction to the surgical instruments you’ll be working with.

By the end of this course, you’ll be able to do the following

• Discuss the importance of the sterile processing department to the operation of healthcare facilities
• Explain the standards, ethics, guidelines, professional standards, and safety regulations that guide the sterile processing profession
• Discuss the specific roles, basic knowledge skills, and functions of the sterile processing technician
• Review workflow within the sterile processing department
• Discuss the various federal and state regulatory agencies and how they’re pertinent to sterile processing
• Define regulations, standards, and recommended practices
• Discuss the HIPAA privacy and security rules and their implications in healthcare
• Distinguish between privacy and security
• Identify types of protected health information (PHI) within a healthcare setting
• Explain essential components of PHI policies and procedural protocols
• Discuss the role of a healthcare department’s privacy officer
• Discuss Spaulding’s Classifications for reprocessing medical devices
• Identify basic procedures and guidelines for establishing aseptic technique
• Distinguish medical versus surgical asepsis
• Discuss five basic principles of aseptic technique
• Identify basic procedures and guidelines for transporting medical equipment and opening supplies using asepsis
• Explain what is meant by the chain of infection and ways to break it
• Discuss the role personal protective equipment plays in the prevention of disease transmission
• Explain how to clean general, powered, and delicate instruments
• Define cleaning and decontamination and their processes
• Discuss water pH and quality, the various detergents used for decontamination, and the various pieces of equipment used to decontaminate medical instrumentation
• Discuss the different types of disinfection
• Identify basic and complex instrumentation and their design and guidelines for reprocessing
• Identify how surgical instruments are used in specific surgical procedures and are pertinent to their specialties

This course will further explore the equipment and processes you’ll encounter in the sterile processing department. First, you’ll learn how instruments are prepared and packaged before being transported to various departments in the hospital. Then, you’ll look at sterilization techniques and how you’ll monitor sterilizers to ensure they’re running efficiently. The next lesson will outline best practices for receiving, selecting, and distributing inventory, and how to keep track of equipment being used in your facility.

You’ll also learn about the specialty departments in the hospital and the equipment they use to care for patients.

Finally, you’ll gain the tools needed to succeed in your new career as a sterile processing technician. You’ll understand the various workplace hazards you might encounter and how you can help out during an incident. You’ll learn how to effectively communicate with your coworkers from a wide range of backgrounds and how to grow your professional and personal reputation.

By the end of this course, you’ll be able to do the following:

• Identify different packaging and assembly procedures for medical devices
• Identify procedures for transporting sterile equipment
• Describe immediate-use steam sterilization and when it’s used within the operative environment
• Describe the differences between low- and high-temperature sterilization
• Explain how to load packaged medical devices into sterilizers
• Identify various components of the steam sterilizer, their functions, and sterilizer cycle phases
• Describe physical, mechanical, chemical, and biological monitoring procedures
• Identify the various inventory replenishment systems and how they’re used in sterile processing
• Discuss how ancillary services support sterile processing
• Define the distribution process
• Discuss the receiving and requisitioning of medical supplies and equipment
• Identify reasons for record-keeping in the sterile processing department
• Describe quality assurance principles as they relate to sterilization monitoring and other processes in sterile processing
• Identify consumable items used in sterile processing
• Discuss how ancillary services and regulatory agencies support sterile processing
• Define the distribution process
• List the importance of preventative maintenance in sterile processing
• Discuss systems used to track medical equipment
• Discuss receiving and requisitioning of medical supplies and equipment
• Identify the information systems that support sterile processing
• Explain OSHA compliance standards and how they contribute to safety in the workplace
• Identify safety guidelines, permissible exposure limits, and electrical safety concerns within the sterile processing department
• Identify guidelines for handling and disposing of hazardous materials
• Differentiate internal and external workplace hazards
• Distinguish different types of communication and between formal and informal groups
• Define diversity
• List characteristics of teamwork and personal and professional development in sterile processing