contoured by your department's standard operating procedures (SOPs)
or assignment competencies. You can only get out of a technician what
you put into him. The key to tackling quality issues in your decontami-
nation area is ensuring that every technician knows what to do and
how to do it and does it the same way — every time. This idea is just
as much cultural as it is technical. Yes, your techs need to know how
long to soak an item in enzymatic detergent, but just as importantly,
they must have a desire to do it correctly, every time, no matter what.
When compromise becomes commonplace, errors take the place of
excellence. While there is a place for preference in certain aspects of
sterile processing, your policies shouldn't be open to interpretation.
During new employee orientation, you should never hear, "But I like
to do it this way." Identify the one best way to complete each decont-
amination task and inculcate that into your training, SOPs and assign-
ment competencies. One sign your decontamination processes are
broken is that quality fluctuates depending on who's assigned there
during certain shifts. If you're doing it right, even though productivity
may vary, excellence shouldn't.
With thousands of contaminated instruments coming through one area
in a short amount of time, it's critical to have your engine of sterile pro-
cessing excellence firing on all cylinders. Hopefully, these tips will keep
you on the road to an error-free SPD.
OSM
Mr. Balch (weston.balch@uhs-sa.com) is the system director of sterile pro-
cessing for University Heath System in San Antonio, Texas, and co-host of the
"Beyond Clean" industry podcast.
Infection Prevention
IP
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