Sterile Processing Certifications

How to get certified

• Pass an Exam: Take the test provided by the Healthcare Sterile Processing Association (HSPA).
• Get Work Hours: Finish 400 hours of real hands-on training in a medical setting.

Role and responsibilities

• Infection Prevention: Ensures complex rigid and flexible endoscopes are free of bioburden to prevent patient cross-contamination.
• Strict Compliance: Follows manufacturer instructions for use (IFUs), industry standards, and OSHA guidelines.
• Core Tasks: Manages point-of-use pre-cleaning, leak testing, manual/automated decontamination, visual inspection (using tools like borescopes), high-level disinfection (HLD) or sterilization, and proper storage.

What a CIS does

• Acts as the resident expert for complex surgical tools and instrument tracking systems.
• Inspects, tests, and evaluates specialized surgical equipment for proper function, corrosion, and sharpness.
• Manages complicated specialty trays, loaner instrumentation, and surgical sets.

Requirements to get certified

• Must already hold a valid, baseline Certified Registered Central Service Technician (CRCST) certification.
• Must complete 200 hours of hands-on experience in specific sterile processing areas (such as decontamination, assembly, and tracking systems) plus direct surgical observation.
• Must pass a comprehensive computer-based exam covering the life cycle and maintenance of surgical tools.

Key responsibilities of a CHL

• Operations Management: Overseeing daily workflow, decontamination, sterilization, and distribution of surgical instruments.
• Compliance & Safety: Ensuring the department follows strict local, state, and federal healthcare regulations.
• Staff Oversight: Handling staff scheduling, human resources, training, and performance evaluations.
• Administration: Managing departmental budgets, financial reporting, and inter-departmental communication with the operating room and hospital administration.

Certification and requirements

• Prerequisites: Typically requires holding an active CRCST credential along with updated qualifying pathways in leadership experience, education, or hands-on time.
• Purpose: It proves that a technician has moved past entry-level tasks and possesses the formal supervisory skills needed to run a safe, efficient department.