Sterile Processing is the perfect career for anyone who’d love to work at a hospital or clinic but doesn’t want to attend medical school.
After all, there are lots of reasons you may not be able to attend such a long-term, expensive program — shorter programs are usually much more accessible and affordable.
Read on to find out how you could make a career out of decontaminating and organizing medical tools and helping surgeons with their procedures in the state of Connecticut.
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How to Become an SPT
Connecticut is one of the four US States that does require certification to become a Sterile Processing Technician.
There, SPTs are considered “central service technicians”, and to become one, you must either be certified by the HSPA (formerly the IAHCSMM) or the Certification Board for Sterile Processing and Distribution (CBSPD).
The Healthcare Sterile Processing Association (HSPA)
You can obtain your certification through one of the HSPA’s four levels of certifications:
- Certified Registered Central Service Technician (CRCST) – the base-level certification for SPTs
- Certified Endoscope Reprocessor (CER) – an endoscope-specific certification
- Certified Instrument Specialist (CIS) – an advanced instrument certification
- Certified Healthcare Leader (CHL) – a certification for SPT management
You must submit a complete application and be accepted before you can register to take the test.
Once you’ve done that, it’s time to study all the resources the HSPA provides you: online courses, content outlines, reference materials, and the HSPA’s Certification Handbook.
Once you’ve passed, you’re certified for a full year.
After that, you’ll have to pay a $50 fee and take continuing education courses to be recertified.
Sterile Processing Schools in Connecticut
Luckily, there are also plenty of colleges in Connecticut to help you prepare for a career as a Sterile Processing Technician.
Connecticut State Community College
Connecticut State Community College offers several SP courses across their different campuses.
Each course prepares you to sit for the CBSPD’s certification exam and costs just under $2000.
This program is considered a non-credit/workforce course, meaning you won’t come out of it with a degree, but their website also provides a few similar degree options for those interested in pursuing one.
Apart from teaching medical terminology (not required by the program but highly recommended) and healthcare lingo, the course will prepare you for the specifics of organizing and decontaminating medical tools, and it’s only 107 hours in total.
To apply, you’ll need a high school diploma or GED-equivalent, and you won’t have to worry about course materials — they’ll all be provided to you.
If you plan to participate in the clinical portion of the course, as is expected, you must also provide a physician’s health form, proof of a COVID vaccine (including boosters), and pass a background check.
Salary
$48,618 is the average base pay for a Sterile Processing Technician in Connecticut.
You could, however, make upwards of $54,000 a year!
Here are the average salaries for some of the cities in Connecticut:
