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M AY 2 0 1 4 | S U P P L E M E N T T O O U T P AT I E N T S U R G E R Y M A G A Z I N E O N L I N E
right path. Communicate your reprocessing policies
to instrument-handling staff members, instrument-
requesting surgeons and instrument-loaning vendors.
5. Your people are your process
New hires often come to my department with certifi-
cations from IAHCSMM or CBSPD. Our first task
upon their arrival, though, is to teach them "the VA
way," which, as I learned when I arrived here, con-
sists of the highest, most stringent recommended
practices from AAMI, AORN and other industry
organizations. We're putting a lot of trust in our
employees, so we point them toward a goal that's
higher than just the standard.
The most important element in the decontamina-
tion process is the techs who are doing the actual
decontaminating. They need to be the experts on
how to thoroughly clean the instruments and operate
the equipment. One way to make sure you're staffed
with the best people is to provide them with continu-
ous training, through routine in-service sessions or
attendance at industry conferences. Make sure your
central sterile services are staffed with enough peo-
ple and that they have the resources they need to do
the job. And if they prove their worth, make sure
they're compensated fairly if you'd like to keep them
working for your facility. OSM
Mr. Gonzales (
rudolph .g onza les@va .g ov
) is chief of ster-
ile processing services at the VA North Texas Health Care
System in Dallas.
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