Technical Standards for CCBC's Central Service Technician Training Series
The primary goal of The Community College of Baltimore County's Central Service Technician Training Series is to adequately prepare students for an entry-level position in the sterile processing department functioning as a central service technician. The duties of a CS Technician require the ability to stand or sit for long hours while constantly being focused on the task at hand. They need to exercise safe practices while exposed to unpleasant sights, odors, materials, and communicable diseases. Their duties also require them to be detail oriented and to work accurately and quickly. A high level of manual dexterity, psychomotor skills, and integrity are vital.
Central Service Technicians (CSTs) are responsible for processing surgical supplies and equipment. CSTs provide support to patient care services in a health care facility. Their tasks include decontaminating, cleaning, processing, assembling, sterilizing, storing, and distributing medical devices and supplies.
The following is a partial listing of the types of skills typically required for adequate job performance:
Physical Requirements:
A. Sufficient strength and mobility to:
- Lift or otherwise maneuver large instrument trays weighing up to 30 pounds
- Stand or sit in one area for long periods of time
- Work quickly to meet deadlines and/or production requirements
B. Fine motor coordination sufficient to perform precise tasks such as:
- Handle delicate surgical instruments
- Safely handle sharp instruments
- Handle instruments and equipment that may be costly to replace if damaged
- Perform basic repairs to instrumentation
- Clean and assemble instrumentation
C. Adequate vision to:
- Read and interpret digital or paper displays on machinery
- Adequate distinction of colors to read and interpret sterilization indicators
- Read instruction sheets and computer screens
D. Sufficient hearing to:
- Hear and understand verbal instructions in person and over the telephone under noisy conditions from masked personnel
- Hear alarms and operating noises of equipment
Interpersonal Skills and Professionalism:
A. Have the ability to:
- Work in a professional manner under sometimes extremely stressful situations
- Pay close attention to detail and recordkeeping
- Commitment to learning and understanding new technologies, instrumentation, and procedures
- Commitment to following approved standards, guidelines, policies, and procedures
- Interact in a professional manner with many personalities and attitudes and with people from many different backgrounds
- Respect and protect patient rights and confidentiality without regard to personal beliefs and judgments
- Maintain proper certifications required to perform the duties of the profession
- Accurately utilize all resource material available to remain current in the profession, including attending departmental in-service training
- Maintain a surgical conscience/professional morality in the application of infection control techniques
- Willingness to precept (train) others
- Commitment to working shifts as assigned, which may include on-call, holidays, and weekends
B. Sufficient communication skills to:
- Give and receive accurate written and verbal instructions
- Carry out all written and verbal instructions
- Follow proper channels of communication
- Communicate in a calm and professional manner
- Communicate clearly and effectively to any team members regarding issues that may be difficult to address (i.e. problem with machinery that could affect sterilization; admission of own errors, etc.)
Intellectual Ability and Emotional Stability To:
- Apply critical thinking and problem solving skills
- Exercise independent judgment to properly perform tasks at hand
- Accurately utilize all resource material available to perform the task at hand
- Work calmly and efficiently in a fast-paced, stressful environment
- Maintain calm during emergency situations
- Perform duties while exposed to communicable diseases and unpleasant sights, odors, and materials
- Accept feedback from others in an open and positive way
- Learn from mistakes
Environmental Requirements:
- The central service technician profession involves risks and/or discomforts that require special safety precautions including, but not limited to:
- Wearing gowns, caps, masks, gloves, and eye protection
- Working in an environment that is often noisy
- Working in an environment that exposes one to potentially hazardous materials, such as cleaning agents, chemicals, and blood-borne pathogens
- Providing proof of recent immunizations against infectious diseases such as measles, mumps, and rubella
- Receiving Hepatitis B vaccine and annual testing for exposure to tuberculosis
- Submitting to periodic drug screening
