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Sterile processing professionals that have long been clamoring for educational programs aimed at attracting promising new technicians to the profession will be pleased to learn that certain regions of the country are becoming increasingly committed to the cause.

As part of the College and Career Transitions Initiative being implemented by Ivy Tech State College in Columbus, IN--and funded by a U.S. Department of Education grant awarded by the League for Innovation--local high school students are now receiving hands-on CS technician training with the help of an area high school and hospital. Students will receive the majority of their course work from IAHCSMM-certified instructors at Columbus East High School and then receive extensive onsite training at Columbus Regional Hospital. Upon completion of the course, students will be eligible for certification as a central service technician. Three students are currently enrolled in the course, which officially kicked off in January.

"The Central Service Technician Program was created to help address the shortage of qualified technicians in the profession," said Jennifer Steinwedel, CCTI project coordinator. "It was also created to help students develop career paths by providing them with a professional skill."

The five-year grant provides $150,000 annually for program and curriculum development, supplies and instructor education. The grant required the college to identify health sciences careers that were experiencing staff shortages. The need for a CS technician program became clear when Columbus Regional Hospital approached Ivy Tech about the staffing difficulties plaguing central service, Steinwedel noted.

A bright future

Although the course is only in its first year, those involved in the program make no bones about its potential long term benefits. Especially Jill Stillwell, CRCST, a 28-year CS veteran who works at Columbus Regional Hospital.

Stillwell said she was becoming increasingly disheartened by the challenge of hiring--and keeping--technicians well suited and prepared for the job.

"It is very frustrating when you are interviewing people who don't know anything about the job," she explained. "It has been my dream for so long to have a program in place that teaches students about the job and lets them know what they can expect inside the department." When students are aware of what the job entails and they make a decision to choose that profession, Stillwell said it results in a much more effective method of recruitment.

Columbus Regional Hospital is hoping the program will attract two types of students: those who love CS and want to stay in the profession, and those who will use their CS experience as a springboard to a career in surgical services.

"Both will be an enormous benefit to our hospital," Stillwell explained. "If we get enough people with CS experience in the operating room, I think both departments--and the hospital on a whole--would benefit a great deal."

There is hope that CS Technician Program credits will someday be transferred to Ivy Tech's surgical technician program. CCTI is working toward creating dual credit agreements between the community college and the high school, which will give high school students an opportunity to earn free college credit after successful completion of the coursework and eliminate the duplication of college coursework. There's also the desire to create a CS certification course at the college.

"Our next step is to determine how we call make the course accessible to adults so they can receive training at the high school and then onsite at the hospital," Steinwedel said.

Success of a CS college program

Ivy Tech wouldn't be the first college in the nation to offer a CS Technician Program. In 1999, Massachusetts Bay Community College in Framingham began offering a Central Processing Technology Program to motivate individuals and promote the profession.

The program was offered to individuals eager to embark on a career in sterile processing, and committed to education and their role in the delivery of quality patient care. As of last year, the CS program has educated and placed nearly 150 CS technicians.

According to Joyce Ifill, assistant professor for surgical technology and certified processing technology, and director for the CS program at MBCC, the course has led to better communication and interaction skills, and the placement of CS technicians who are more prepared and motivated to stick with the career.

In Fall 2003, the CS program was broadened to include a materials management component and give sterile processing professionals a leg up on the career ladder. The goal, according to Ifill, was to "prepare them for a role with supervisory and budgetary capabilities," and enable them to work more closely with other departments and disciplines, including the operating room and pharmacy. The program was also designed to be an Associate's Degree course--one that was offered at the certification level with the degree option strongly recommended.

"Staff shortages are still a concern, but facilities are realizing it's better to have a smaller group of people that really wants to be there than a full staff that may not be there next week," explained Ifill. "It's been exciting to see value being placed on the profession--and that staff honestly enjoy what they do."

Although programs like the rams in Massachusetts and Indiana are still considered visionary, IAHCSMM's educational director, Natalie Lind, said she is hopeful that their success could help ignite interest nationwide.

"The support provided by these programs will help ensure there is a pool of skilled workers ready to provide surgical and nursing service support," she said. "That is extremely important as surgical procedures and instrumentation become more sophisticated and the job becomes more demanding."

Stillwell agreed, adding that nothing would make her happier than witnessing the CS profession flourish at the hands of well-trained, prepared and motivated staff.

"If I don't accomplish anything else in my career, it will he worth it as long as I can see a stable CS profession. That would be a dream come true."

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