Sterilization Station: A Sterile Processing Empowerment Podcast
Welcome to "Sterile Processing Empowerment Podcast, the podcast dedicated to elevating the field of sterile processing and surgical services! In an industry where precision and care intersect, we believe that knowledge is power. Our mission is to empower, encourage, and motivate every professional engaged in the transformative world of healthcare.
Join us each week as we delve into enlightening discussions that shine a light on best practices, emerging innovations, and the critical role sterile processing plays in patient safety. Whether you're a seasoned expert or just starting your journey, our panels and expert guests will provide invaluable insights through engaging conversations and real-world stories.
From the nuances of instrument handling to the latest in sterilization techniques, we cover it all. Expect thought-provoking interviews, educational segments, and motivating content designed to inspire you to elevate your craft. Together, let’s foster a community that champions excellence in surgical services and celebrates the unsung heroes of healthcare.
Tune in to where expertise meets passion, and every episode empowers you to make a difference in the operating room and beyond.
Sterilization Station: A Sterile Processing Empowerment Podcast
Organization and Consistency: The Twin Pillars of Sterile Processing
Sterile processing excellence is built on two powerful habits: organization and consistency, which directly impact workflow, team culture, and patient safety. Carol Malone joins us to explore how these fundamental traits form the foundation of trust in healthcare settings.
• Leaving workspaces clean and stocked is an act of kindness to coworkers and yourself
• Disorganized spaces create ripple effects that impact morale and workflow efficiency
• Visual systems like labeled storage, cleaning logs, and standardized workstations support consistency
• SCOPs (Self-Created Operating Procedures) develop when staff lack understanding of the "why" behind procedures
• Quality must always take priority over quantity in instrument processing
• Proper documentation and checklists ensure everyone receives consistent training
• Respect and simple courtesies cost nothing but contribute significantly to team cohesion
• Leaders who address conflicts quickly and hold regular one-on-ones strengthen departmental culture
• Consistent standards ensure no one can tell which technician processed a tray by its quality
Email us at sterilizationstation@outlook.com or connect with Bill Rochelle on LinkedIn to share your thoughts or suggest topics for future episodes.
sterile processing isn't just about trays and indicators. It's about trust. Trust that clean, complete and consistent. But trust doesn't happen by accident. It's built on two powerful habits organization and consistency. Today we are unpacking how those two traits can make or break your workflow, your team culture and, yes, even patient safety. And to dive into it with us is the phenomenal Carol Malone, a leader who knows that excellence starts with the basics done right. So welcome to the show today, carol.
Speaker 2:Thank you, Bill. It's a pleasure to be here.
Speaker 1:I'm glad you're able to come back on the show. We had a really good episode talking about equality versus quantity. Really enjoyed the conversation and all the great insight that Carol had to bring to us, so really really excited about having another episode. And these were some topics that Carol, especially, was very passionate about, as well as something that I'm passionate about, so just definitely looking forward to diving into this today. And so, carol, why do you feel leaving your workspace clean and stocked is an act of kindness?
Speaker 2:It's an act of kindness to your co-workers, but it's also an act of kindness to yourself, because it's going to ripple down. You know, if I leave my workstation unorganized, unstocked, you come in, you're going to work in that space after I leave it and you don't want to stock it either. So you're going to start grabbing from the person next to you and then third shift's going to come in and by morning time it's just going to be messy, dirty, stocked. So we need to be kind to our coworkers, but we should be kind to ourselves.
Speaker 1:That's really really good. Yeah, I know I've worked in industrial processing, has seen workstations that are not organized and it's very chaotic, and it definitely has a great impact, even though you might think it's something that's so small, but definitely it's something that has a great impact on the team, you know, and so definitely looking forward to diving into this. And so what's one small organizational habit that can create the big ripple effect?
Speaker 2:in the department. I mean, I we kind of touched on a little bit it's it's respect. I think I know you know we all have our core values in our, in our work locations and things, and one of them is respect. So showing respect to your coworkers your coworkers don't have to be your besties outside of work, but you are all there for a common goal and a common purpose and being respectful to each other, I think, is something so simple. We all can do it. It doesn't cost you anything when I pass you in the hallway Bill to say good morning Bill. It costs us nothing. It's respect. It acknowledges you, you acknowledge me and we have a common understanding that we're working towards a common goal. So I think that's something very simple that really needs to be worked on at some places.
Speaker 1:Yeah, no, for sure, absolutely.
Speaker 2:I agree with you wholeheartedly and 100%. Have you ever walked into a shift and instantly felt the difference? Because of disorganization? My husband teases me I have to do the dishes before I do the dishes. You know, I kind of work the same way when I'm on site. I can't assemble a tray at a workstation on top of just you know stranded instruments and extra wraps and peel packs and just supplies that don't belong there.
Speaker 2:You know I need it to be clean and organized. So you know we need processes in place and we need people accountable to clean up their areas. And it is something so simple but it's something so difficult at the same time to get people to stock their workstations. I've been in a lot of hospitals and I've seen attempts at organization of the workstation. You'll see little cubbies, you'll see them labeled, but then you'll see everything but what's on the label in the cubby. So you know why is it so difficult for people to just clean up after themselves and stock a couple little cubby bins and wipe off a table? I do not know the answer to that.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that's yeah, for sure. I mean, the first thing I do when I get to a workstation is we wipe down the surface. You know, after I've, you know, dabbed a little hand cleaner or, you know, washed my hands, make sure my hands were clean, come to the department and then make sure I clean off my workstation. And it's amazing, amazing, when you clean off a workstation and you can tell it has not been clean for a long time. So absolutely, I agree with you 100%. How can a disorganized space affect morale or even safety in sterile processing?
Speaker 2:You know, I kind of just had this little scenario in my head.
Speaker 2:You know, morale kind of tanks when Cindy, over here, you know, never refills her workstation.
Speaker 2:And then you know Bob comes in second shift after Cindy's worked there all day and kind of made a mess and not refilled anything because she's probably pilfered supplies from here and there.
Speaker 2:Or I've seen this too, where the people will walk all the way back to where the supplies are stored, grab only what they need for that tray, walk all the way back to their workstation instead of refilling, so it'll ripple down where you know it doesn't get cleaned or stocked. And then the next shift comes in and they're like well, the first people didn't do it, I'm not doing it, I'm just going to get by with what I need to do. And then by the time the third person gets there, there's nothing at the station, it's dirty, there's probably all kinds of stranded instruments and things that don't belong there. And then, to top it off, cindy, who started the ripple effect is probably not held accountable and it just ripples through everyone because everyone's like well, she doesn't have to do it, I don't have to do it, so it just, it just snowballs into this whole whole ball of yarn.
Speaker 1:Absolutely, especially when someone doesn't take the time to. It falls under the classification of being detail-oriented. Right, it's that you understand, like when you're leaving a workstation you don't want to take the last of something. I know I drive my wife crazy. I'll I'll eating a bag of chips or eating an apple and I take the last one around the last one, and and she just didn't grow up like that because she was, you know, an only child really. So she didn't. She know, her and her parents and her household. If you take the last one, you should say something before or offer it really to somebody else. But anyway, that's a, that's a bonus. That's just a little bit of getting to know Bill right there.
Speaker 2:You just struck on something very, very applicable is the fact that you come from two different backgrounds, right? So you said?
Speaker 2:you know, she was raised in one scenario. You were raised in a different scenario. I am one of four children as well, and you know, sometimes you go and grab the orange juice container and, oh, there's two drops. Who put this back in here? Right, so it's that same thing. So why? Why do people feel that, you know, at the workspace they shouldn't respect each other enough, like to not leave something empty or to restock something or to let the supervisor know hey, I did try to restock this, but there's nothing in the stock room to restock it with. Please place an order. It's that whole communication and respect and accountability.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it's really good, especially in working in a team.
Speaker 1:It's good to anticipate and think about how, the times I was in serial processing, it wasn't just about you know me looking out for my specific area, but it's having the consensus of the whole department.
Speaker 1:Even when loaners would come in the department, I would, you know, want to know what case is that for what's going on, because you never know. When you know the lead's going to be out, the supervisor can't make it and all of a sudden you know there needs to be someone that can make a decision or at least know where we're going, have some type of direction. So I think it's really important to even just understand what's low, what, what do we have extras of? So I think that's a part of it is just kind of being a part of the pulse of your department knowing where is the. You know the bub-bump, bub-bump, bub-bump SPD, right, where's what's your heartbeat? So no, I think, I think that's really really, really good. And then, visual system do you notice anything related to like what tools or visual systems can help you keep things running smoother in your experience in SPD?
Speaker 2:I mean, I personally, when I ran a department I had a couple of different things, like our backup board. Our instrument vendor actually came in and made me these beautiful little laminated cards with a picture of the instrument and the part number on it, just like you see at the hardware store, right when it's on the pegboard, and then you know when the peg is empty. It's of course what you're going there to buy, but you could read the label and see oh, that's where the scissors I'm looking for are supposed to be. So I had a vendor come in and, like I said, they created those cards for me, which was fantastic, because then my text would be like hey, they put the card on my desk, I would order the card back on the pegboard, something else I used to do.
Speaker 2:We didn't always have tracking systems. So some of the stuff we put in the tracking system to track, but other things I still cut paper logs for, like the cleaning of the shelves. Right Every month you're supposed to wipe down your shelves and this, and that I had it posted right on the end. You know, very visual, what's the date? You know, hey, I don't have anything to do, we'll go check the date on the shelf cleaning. What's the last date? Oh, it's been three weeks. Clean the shelves, you know. So you have visuals, instructions are posted, different things. You don't want to post too much stuff, though, because then it just kind of becomes white noise in the background too, so you got to be careful how much stuff you post.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I agree with you, you can overly post it or have too many visuals and it becomes more confusing than it is anything else. I think we've used the term like, especially in the lean principles understanding what the value stream is, and so having your processes mapped out so that everyone is able to understand what the standard operating procedure is for that department, and then also visualization of the workstation, so your workstations are standardized, so every drawer and every workstation is the same, so regardless whether you're asked to go to this station or that station, everything is in the same place. You know, I think that helps out a lot.
Speaker 2:It does. And then you need that accountability of the staff to understand and this is empty indicators. Go in here, nothing else you know I don't want to see paperclips. I don't want to see stopcocks. I don't want to see anything else. Indicators.
Speaker 1:Yeah, no, that's good, that's really good. That visualization of the workstation will help you to understand exactly what goes where, and that's awesome. How do we balance speed and thoroughness, especially during these high case volume hospitals?
Speaker 2:How do we value speed and thoroughness? How do we value it? I mean, it's always important and I always preached quality over quantity because, yeah, it's great. You know, okay, Bill, great, you did a great job today. You knocked out 30 trays. Well, unfortunately, five of them got rejected because you didn't properly inspect these lumens or you did an insulation test, or you put a broken instrument. What have you right? So speed meant nothing, because now we've got to rework all these trays. We've probably delayed a case, maybe even canceled a case, right? So what did that speed get us? It got us. Heartache is what it got us. So if we have our SOPs in place, like you and I keep talking about, and you and I are inspecting trays the same way, we're assembling trays, the same way we're maybe even having them audited, as long as we're following the same process, once those trays get to the OR, no one should know who put them together unless they look at the label on the outside. Right.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I think being, you know, being thorough and consistent is such an important factor and, like you said, making sure that quality is at the you know it's in the forefront, making sure our product is a quality product going up and that we're staying very consistent in following our processes. And I think that's true, right. You know we used to have this guy. He would drive real far. He was late every night.
Speaker 1:When I worked nights he would leave early cause he took care of his mom, but he would do like 60 trays and it was like he would just have all these trays stacked up and it was like it's just think like how are you? There's no way you're checking all those instruments, there's just no way like, but he would come in two hours late, leave one hour early and you know it was just like wow, but he would do all these trays. I mean it was amazing. I would think like, how did he? How does he do that? But he, he wasn't. No doubt he wasn't checking them like he was supposed to for sure. He wasn't scissor testing everything, he wasn't making sure the laparoscopic instruments or insulated instruments were tested and there's just no way you're going not the right way to pay the price for that, the patient, you know.
Speaker 2:So that's, that's the sad part. And you know, I used to have instances like that as well when I started way back, way back in 19 and or 2000. But anyway it there was a person as well. You know, just crank it through stuff and yeah, no inspecting, no testing, no, skipping a lot of steps. Let's, let's put it that way. So we're, we're more in tune to that nowadays, but I still see technicians aren't empowered to stop the line when they're kind of getting hammered to. You know, do more trays, do more trays. But I think that I think that has gotten better, that you know the the message is quality over quantity and the testing is really important and I I think that that message really is being heard, maybe not as much as we would like, but more than it was when I started.
Speaker 1:So I'm happy about that improvement is always good, you know, definitely improvement is always good in sterile process and anywhere in life. So that's, that's another excellent, excellent area that we covered. So last episode we talked about SOPs and SCOPs, right.
Speaker 1:Your self-created operating procedures. Bill coined a word named SCOPs and we're reintroducing it back into the episode. Ladies and gentlemen, or you know people out there in the sterilization world that are watching and listening to this podcast, and so I just had to just kind of redefine that. Of course, sop is a standard operating procedure. Most hospitals have them, manufacturing plants have them. You know, single-use manufacturing plants have them for their medical devices. But you know, we introduced this self-created operating procedure and that sneaks into sterile processings, right? People say that, oh, I've always done it this way, this is how it's done. And you ask them well, where are you pulling that information from? Where did you learn that? Who educated you that way? What is your reference, your educational reference? And they don't have it right. It's something that they coined up, to be true, but it's really not, and so I guess you could say it's doing it my way, right, as the standard, versus actually having an actual standard operating procedure. And so why do you feel that SOPs matter and how to reestablish them without friction?
Speaker 2:Well, sops, as you said, standard operating procedures matter a lot. They matter a lot, kind of like. What I was saying was you and I should be following the same 10 steps and again, they should not know if I inspected and assembled that tray or if you did it until they read the name on the tag. And the reason that's so important is because that means that you and I are following the same 10 steps and that we're following those 10 steps and I know there's more, but example purposes I'm using 10 and that we're doing that every time. So we are, we are consistently producing quality sets, and that is why standard operating procedure is so important, because it's all about the quality of the sets that we are sending to the OR, and if we're not following those same steps, then our quality is going to be inconsistent. Right?
Speaker 1:That's so true. I know the cost of doing it our way is, when we're doing it our way, it's definitely going to have an impact on the patient. It could even have an impact on not only the patient's safety but even the employee's safety if we're not following. There's a reason why these different contributors took the time to fly, to stay in hotels, to meet, to go over the standards, to look at all the processes to make sure that we're protecting, like I said, not only the patient but also the employees that are servicing. I mean, if the employees aren't taking care of themselves, they're no good to the patients. They're not going to be able to provide the patients with the best quality of outcome. If we're not doing things the way that you know and we think about when you're, you know, you're setting up or you're organizing, creating your standards, you are thinking about employee safety, you are thinking about patient safety. So I think that's really important. So anything you like to add on top of that.
Speaker 2:No, I concur that's really important.
Speaker 1:So anything you like to add on top of that? No, I concur. Okay, what do you say to someone who thinks SOPs are too rigid or outdated.
Speaker 2:Well, so I guess I would have to have a conversation with them to understand why they think that, because typically that type of a comment will come from someone who doesn't know what the procedure should be. I mean, I have personally read a lot of IFUs as procedure should be. I mean, I have personally read a lot of IFUs as an educator for over six years. I read a lot of IFUs, even for our equipment, for my sterilizer, the washers. Like I read the IFUs start to finish. I know, but the reason I did that was because when I'm standing in front of someone who's disagreeing with me or giving me a hard time, like you're saying, I have the knowledge of what the manufacturer has stated to be true and I can then combat what they're saying with like, hey, listen, you know we have this procedure in place because we are preventing this or we are promoting this and it comes from a manufacturer.
Speaker 2:It's not Carol's rules, which you know. You're going to hear Bill said this, but we're not going to do that. That's dumb. Well, no, you read the IFU right. So you're like well, no, the manufacturer Olympus says do these 27 steps? But you know, sally Jo is like no, I'm only going to do six of them. Well, no, right, so you have to have we have to be taught the same. We have to have the ability to train new people, to hold them accountable, to do their competencies, to make sure they're competent. So we have to have a consistent, you know, list of things that we're basing this all from.
Speaker 2:I hope that made any sense because I kind of lost myself there.
Speaker 1:No, it's okay. Yeah, I think I think, like the general context of the comparison between the two is typically those who are creating their own. What they would say is best practice versus what is a best practice or what is been identified in that specific hospital for that. You know that SOP. And so I think in any department you're going to see at times where someone's going to kind of you know, and sometimes it's even something that you're almost shocked. You're like that. We used to do that like 10 years ago. How did that? You know it's a, and here's why we don't do this anymore.
Speaker 2:Here's a report, here's a document stating the harm that can come from this process, like a good example of things that we don't do anymore is sterilize gauze and trays, sterilize rubber bands and safety pins and ACE bandages and all these things. Because when I first started back in 2009, we were sterilizing all that stuff. Well, moving forward as we started following IFUs more and referring to IFUs, I found out there are no IFUs for me to open an ACE bandage and stick it in a peel pack and sterilize it. There's no IFU for that. Therefore, we are not going to do it.
Speaker 2:And then with the gauze, I've read reports and seen things where it says that it can hold moisture and actually grow bacteria. Well, do you want that in your tray? No, so our hospital system stopped that practice. We started, we made, we made sure that the floors or the OR had, you know, the sterile gauze and packages and we stopped putting it in the trays. But you'll still run across places that will do those sorts of things. And it's like well then, show me the IFU that you could do. This is usually my first go to, and when they can't produce it, I'm like well then, unfortunately, we cannot do this.
Speaker 1:Right, that's good, that's really good. Have you ever had to correct the scop that had been around for years and, if so, how?
Speaker 2:sure, sure have. So, uh, this scenario you'll you'll find this interesting. So the staff wanted to make sure that the rigid scopes you know you, you hand wash your rigid scopes right, they don't go through the washer and they were very concerned to make them safe to handle as a handwashed item. Okay, I can appreciate that, but unfortunately, the scops that they created to ensure that these items were safe to handle was actually destroying the scopes. So what they were doing was they were no one read an eye a few, clearly, because they would put them in the enzymatic and soak them.
Speaker 2:I would find them like just no one in decontam and the scopes are in the sink soaking. I'm like they're like, oh, sally Jo went to lunch. I'm like, okay, so these scopes have been in the sink for how long? And then they would take them and rinse them and put them in Cydex to make them safe to handle. I'm like, okay, so are you following the rules? First of all, let's pull the IFU, because it doesn't say you can even high-level disinfect these items. But second of all, you're not taking the temperature of the Cydex, you're not timing the soak in the Cydex, you're just leaving them in there for hours. And what was happening was they were having scopes that had to keep going out for repair and they couldn't understand it, while I was doing a root cause following the process, right. So my first instinct, without even reading that, if you was, you guys are over soaking these and you're putting them inside X. So I pulled the. I pulled the IFU for every rigid scope that they were processing.
Speaker 1:And.
Speaker 2:I highlighted. Some of them actually said to not over soak them, to do the minimum amount of soaking in the enzymatic, and I'm printing them off and I'm highlighting it. And then I had to go get the leadership on board with it because they were okay with what the staff was doing, because they were not sterile processing people and did not understand Right. So I had to get them on board first and then I had to get the staff on board and that was a hard sell because you had people that had been there 25, 30 years and just did not want to hear a word I had to say. So it was not an instant fix. It took several months of repeated handing out of IFU documents with highlights and repeated conversations with leadership to back me up. But we finally got them to stop soaking the scopes over soaking the scopes and to stop putting them in Side-X.
Speaker 2:We got Side-X out of the department actually altogether, which was great because they were Side-Xing things that didn't need to be Side-X Like speculums can go in the washer, laryngoscope blades can go in the washer. I finally got them to use disposable. So there was a lot of things that they were wasting a lot of time doing that really didn't need to be like there was more efficient ways that they could do these things and then have that time to. You know, clean lumens and do better inspections and stuff. So it it was a whole. It was a whole process.
Speaker 1:Yeah, nowadays, the items that are now washer approved, that I never. Would have ever thought like, wow, I would be like you can't put that in the washer. And then they would show me the eye of you and I said, well, okay, I guess, I guess you can. So that's really interesting, yeah.
Speaker 2:You got to be careful with that stuff, though, because if you, yes, like the system, eight, right, and the batteries, yes, they can go in the washer, but the washer cycle is very specific right then this this is where it boils down to does the site know what their washer cycle actually is? Why press button number one? Fantastic. What does that mean?
Speaker 1:how long is the rinse? Is it cool water rinse?
Speaker 2:how long is the wash cycle? How much enzymatic is being dispersed? Is there lubricant? Is there this? Is there that you know what's the dry?
Speaker 1:time Right, yeah, exactly.
Speaker 2:So so that's good.
Speaker 1:Yes, that's really good.
Speaker 2:But I would be with you with like no, we're still going to hand wash it, because then we have. If we don't, we have to program a special cycle, and can other things be washed on that cycle when we're sticking this item in? Right it almost sometimes is just easier to hand wash it.
Speaker 1:Like your eye instruments, your ophthalmology instruments up there, you know, are a special cycle Reprocess RF probes for pain injection and the rep just brought me the IFU to express that those can go in the wash.
Speaker 2:I was really shocked behind that, really, because those require longer soaking time too, if I remember correctly, the RF needles, rfid needles.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it's been a little while for me, but we just got them in the department now. So yeah, it is a washer. It does specify in the IFU that it's washer approved. It's really interesting. But anyway, let's get away from that hole, that rabbit hole.
Speaker 2:Sorry.
Speaker 1:You're good. You're good. That's Bill. How can leaders support SOPs without micromanaging?
Speaker 2:Well, this is where the documentation really comes in. So when staff is trained, I personally as an educator and I really love my checklists right, because that ensures that I am being consistent with what I've trained you to do, what I've trained Sally over here to do, what I've trained Cindy to do, because if I'm training from a checklist, I'm giving the same information to each person and I'm also checking off that everyone has gotten the same information. And then when we do a hands-on competency, I am again checking off that, yes, you are knowledgeable about this information and it's all in black and white and that way you know we can be consistent with everything like that.
Speaker 1:That's really good. That's excellent. What are your go-to methods for retraining or realigning a team? Member on standards.
Speaker 2:Well, that's kind of that same theory of you know the checklist.
Speaker 2:I know that, like Jayco and DNV are getting more, they're going more deep into the employee files. They want to see documentation that you were trained on how to clean the Carl Storz scope and that you know the 27 steps that are required. They want to see that. They want to see that you have gotten continuing education. You know, not just when you crammed them all in because you're expiring next month and you're like, oh shoot, I got 12, I have to do and you're. You know they're all dated March 1st and you're expiring April 1st. You know they want to see consistency in the documentation, that you're not just trained once a year, or competency once a year. They want to see continuous training and they want to see you know that we're doing our job to make sure that staff is competent.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that's really good. I love that. I love the checklist. I know I've created a few checklists in my days in SPD to help the departments especially when I was, you know, lead or supervisor even like a daily checklist coming in a different quality checklist.
Speaker 1:Yeah, exactly, yeah, exactly. We used to have one laminated that was like kind of in the area, so everyone knew they could see exactly what needed to be done. Of course, having those visuals, so that's really great. That's really great. We're going down to another one of your, your most passionate areas, which is consistency. And how consistency is that quiet hero in sterile processing? Do you have any opening remarks for consistency you'd like to share with the listeners out there in the sterilization station?
Speaker 2:Anybody that knows me knows again, my motto is organization and consistency, and you cannot have success or good quality without consistency, and you can't be consistent if you're not organized. So it all just kind of goes, you know, goes together.
Speaker 1:Goes hand in hand. Why do you feel consistency matters more than tone or speed in sterile processing?
Speaker 2:You know, again there's the human factor, right? I mean, our sterile processing departments really encompass so many different people from so many different backgrounds. I mean, you know, our hospital system hires uncertified, untrained, right. So you could work at Target last week and we hire you on and you come to work in our hospital and I think that's great, but at the same time, we need to do proper training before we set you loose. It all encompasses, together with the consistency of I have my checklist, I'm going to train, you know, someone who has two years experience coming into our system. The same way, I'm going to train someone who came from Target last week, because you are all going to get the same information, we're going to go over the same stuff and I'm going to make sure you know our way. You know, because everybody has their own way, but we follow the standards. So you're going to learn the standards, You're going to learn the why. You know, know, because that that's where the scops come from is.
Speaker 2:people don't know the why so that's so true, and you get that training and that consistent training and consistent retraining.
Speaker 1:Um, that's kind of where it all goes so so you're, you're a scop, because you lack the why, huh well, to be honest, scops come sometimes from broken equipment.
Speaker 2:Uh, you know, I've I've dealt with that as well. And then they don't realize the equipment's been repaired and they, even though they've been told, so that might even be another time to produce another checklist of like okay, the sonic has been repaired, we're going to go back over the steps of when you use it, how you use it, what have you, and we're going to sign off that on May 15th, bill was retrained on this because this machine is no longer broken. And then you know six months from now when you're still doing your scop because you just wanted to ignore me. Well, that is not okay. So it's again that retraining, the consistency of the training, the checklist to document the training. It's a lot of things, but consistency is it.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I think that's really good. I love all the information that you're sharing, because there's definitely an emotional impact that can happen when you're not following those operating procedures and you're not consistent and then it causes people to doubt their ability to really rely on you as a co-worker. They don't feel that you're consistent or that maybe there was a change and you're you're not moving into it, embracing that and so, and then leadership is so important, right, they lead by example, they help to show us exactly what what consistency is and help us to define that. And having that trailblazer and that call them the standard bearer. You know they used to back in the days the Roman army, different armies would have the standard or the banners or the signets that might have had infantry or arrows and they would wave it. And so you got that banner of consistency. Right, you're just waving it around and you're like who's?
Speaker 1:consistent. Bring the consistent people up to the front, right yeah, so now that's great. What do you think is the biggest myth about consistency in sterile processing?
Speaker 2:You know, I had something I had seen. So the biggest myth about consistency, I was thinking about the biggest myth in sterile processing. So well, kind of the same, maybe not. So the biggest myth that popped into my head was that we are not. Our decontam areas are not like the kitchen of, you know, the cafeteria. So the myth that anybody can walk in and do what we do is I don't know. I don't know that we're ever going to get away from that myth that it's just, you know, so easy. It's just like washing your dishes at home. You know, it's just. That is not okay.
Speaker 1:I just got into sterile processing. I got a good job. He's like what's that, what's sterile? Now he's like a contract guy yeah and I'm like I'm a sterile processor.
Speaker 1:He said what's that? And I said I clean and decontaminate and sterilize surgical instruments used in various procedures. They said, oh, so you're a glorified dishwasher? I was like. I was like, yeah, this is the, this is the, this is how I'm going to take care of your daughter, though Make good money, got good benefits. But you know, I realized in initially, when you first hear it, like someone once told my wife. She was like, oh, he's just a sterile processor, you know, cleans instruments. But it's a lot more complex. And the more I learned, you know, when I first got into sterile processing, I wanted to get married. I passed the class. I was a C average student, I'll be honest.
Speaker 1:But you know, it wasn't until like my fourth year in sterile processing. I met someone from Steris or BellyMed that was repairing the sterilizer and I was so intrigued by the engineering aspect of it, and so I began to ask lots of questions. And then he started to break down to me how the sterilizer works on the inside. But up to that point I was a button pusher. I just pressed number one, p1, p2, p3, p4, right. But then I remember getting an IFU and, you know, learning how to like, read and find out oh wow, this is supposed to be sterilized. You know, for whatever four minutes or 10 minutes longer, or the dry time was shorter, learning about gravity, displacement, sterilization and everything.
Speaker 1:And so I started to really learn the why. And when I started learning the why, that's where it really took off to me and I started to understand. I remember watching a video about hydrogen peroxide or gas plasma and how that works, and was mesmerized by the science behind how it applies an electrical field, right, and it starts as a liquid form, but then it vaporizes it to a gaseous state and they apply the electrical field and, oh my goodness, it creates plasma. I was just like this is so exciting, right, this is plasma. Just saying it sounds cool, plasma, it just sounds fun. But then I started really getting into it and that's where my journey into becoming more excited and passionate about sterile processing, because I really started to learn about what really happens, and so that's when, like, all the light bulbs started to connect for me, and so, anyways, I thought I would just share, share a little bit of that about my journey and when it really opened up to me.
Speaker 2:I mean, I see where your passion stays with you and I applaud that because you're right. Like you said and that's kind of my thing too is that I'm always telling people, you know, when I'm educating them and they'll be like, oh well, you know, I'm just a tech. And then the shoulders droop and they're like I'm like you are more than just a tech, like, come on, you can read right, yep, read the IFU. Stand up and bring it to your supervisor or whatever, and say, hey, you know what we're doing, this wrong. Or make a suggestion when you see something that could be better organized in your department to run smoother.
Speaker 2:Where you know, things that make me crazy are when the washers are across the room from the sink and they literally wash one tray at a time and walk it over and come back and do another one and walk it over. I'm like you know what. You know how much time and strain you will save yourself if you just bring that washer manifold over to the sink. And then their faces light up and they're like oh yeah, that would make sense, oh yeah, oh gosh, yeah. And then I stand back there for a shift with them and make sure that they do and they're like, oh my gosh, I don't feel all like I've been hunched over the sink, but it's these simple things that you get excited about, because you're like, like you said, the light bulb went on, you know, and just like, oh my gosh, I can do this, I can make suggestions, I do have ideas.
Speaker 2:This is pretty cool, like you said, when you learned about the inside of the sterilizer and what was going on in there, and now we have videos to show us what's going on in there. It is exciting, it's cool. And I always say when people I do career days, my kids when they were in elementary school and stuff, I always did career day and I would have kids come back year after year because they were excited, because I would bring in PPE and I'd let them dress up, you know.
Speaker 2:So I have pictures of these kids walking down the hall with the gloves that are 10 sizes too big and the masks, and they're all excited and it's like I just I love that excitement and they would come back year after year because they knew I was there and just to get people. It just makes you excited, it makes you proud to be doing what you're doing. But the first question you get asked when they come in the room and you're standing in scrubs, my first question I ask the kids is does anybody know what I do? Are you a nurse? No. Are you a doctor? No, no, I'm something way better. I'm a sterile processing tech. And they all get excited. You're a sterile processing tech, what's that? So I still say that today, even when I'm educating to adults. You are more than just a tech. You stand up. You're a sterile processing tech. Be proud of that.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that's really cool. I love your passion too, and you're very passionate about education and making sure that you're doing it right and making sure that you're creating an environment of people that are desiring to grow into that, and so I think that's really good. I just want to add this real quick before we go into another. One of the questions on consistency is I remember working at a hospital where we lost our director of sterile processing. She had built the hospital. The hospital grew really fast. We became a trauma, I guess whatever three trauma.
Speaker 1:We became the trauma hospital in the region and now we were doing a re-bid, re-classification and he came over from another hospital to help out and so this hospital this time they were coming out with you had your badge, like your department badge, but then that you had like a little sign that said your title so people in the hospital could know who you were. And so he starts handing out these. He starts handing out these, these, these placards that go behind our badge, and so this guy gets it and he's like sterilization scientist, right. And so I was like, let me get one of those, right? So he gives it to me and this guy, he was very. This guy is so passionate I mean he's got energy like me times 10 and and he come there down there, and so I was kind of edging him on because I wanted to hear this speech, that I heard everyone. I caught the tail end of it one day.
Speaker 1:So I was like Francis, francis. I was like Francis, can you, can you, can you make me a believer? And he was like what do you mean? I'm like, make me a believer, francis. And so all the guys are laughing and he's like what are you talking about? He's a he's got this like real strong accent. I think he's from a part of Africa. And so he's like what are you talking about? And so I'm like Francis, I want to be a believer, I want you to make me understand how I'm a sterile scientist. And he goes into it. It's the best. I hope I can record it and put it on the podcast.
Speaker 1:He's like you are a scientist, you are a sterile scientist. You create, you generate, you redistribute sterile instruments. And he's so passionate about it and everyone's got the placards on and it was great. So I just love that right, because he's like he embraced it, he embodied it, he knew that what I was doing was so important and I want to be paid, like you know, a doctor, because of what we're doing is so important. So, francis, I salute you. I know that I'm a sterile scientist, even if it's not on my badge. Where I'm at, we do create and generate and manufacture sterility on a daily basis in sterile processing. So I just had to add that because it's great.
Speaker 2:I got to write that down. Sterile scientist. I like that.
Speaker 1:Yeah, you got to write that down. His name is Francis. I'm going to introduce you to him in social media. He actually created a tracking system that's just been launched, actually being promoted by SIPs. Sips Healthcare, karen Cherry Brown's group, are promoting it, partnering with him, but when I met it it was called sterile matrix AI, but it's a. It's a new sterile processing tracking system, but anyways, so how? How do you coach someone who's struggling to be consistent under pressure?
Speaker 2:You know it's that's a difficult one because it depends on the culture of the department. I mean, in my department, when I was in charge of the department, it was like slow down, slow down, stay with the process. I didn't demand a quota of, you know, five trays an hour or what have you. We just you know we need to clear the shelf. So if that means how long it takes, is how long it takes, you know, as long as we had what we needed for today and we were ready, you know, getting ready for tomorrow, what have you. So some places are a little more difficult because they're, you know, they're running on trade quotas per hour or they're running on.
Speaker 2:You have Sally Jo over here, who is my coworker and my equal, but she thinks she's my boss, so she's constantly on me and, like you know, we all know the scenarios that are going to occur with staff and I think that goes back to what we talked about in the beginning. Is that that simple thing called respect. Instead of her chirping at me and barking at me, maybe she could help me, or maybe she could teach me some tips and tricks, or you know. But it depends on that dynamic of the people and how much leadership supports and how much people are held accountable. So there's a lot of factors that go into answering that question.
Speaker 1:It's really good. How does kindness play into consistent accountability?
Speaker 2:That's funny. I just kind of was saying that you know we have to give each other grace, right? I mean, you know I may be having a bad day. Maybe you know something happened in my personal life. Maybe my dog is sick, or maybe my child is sick, or maybe I'm sick, or you know what have you? We need to not be so hard on each other. I mean, I've been to places. There's one place that stands out in my mind.
Speaker 2:The one girl has never worked in any other sterile processing department but this one. She came from retail. She's super high energy, which is fine, but she also thinks that her way is the only way and it's not fine because some of the things she does are incorrect. So trying to correct her and get her to stop thinking she's the boss and micromanaging her fellow employees, who are her equals, not her subordinates, is a tough, tough situation. So the kindness part would be great and trying to get her to understand hey, listen, everybody started out the same place. You know you came from retail. This person's coming from wherever. Give them some grace, remember where you started and just be kinder.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that's really good. I think kindness it really does go a long way. Kindness, gentleness I think as we get to know each other and learn each other, it really helps us in sterile processing. I know that I had a coworker. She was really like to the point, direct, kind of loud, boisterous, and I remember like she'd come in the morning and she just would shoot. I was working nights and I was like one of the only people on nights who was working.
Speaker 2:Well, that's the other problem yeah, which is common.
Speaker 1:And so she'd come in the morning and she'd say who's on this, who's on that, who's on this? And I remember one time we were in decontamination and we were talking and she poured out her heart to me and she said you know, bill, I might not joke around a lot today, if that's okay. She A, because she was a real big joker. But she came in and she said you know what, bill, I'm not going to be joking around a lot today and I really hope that you can respect that. And I said, oh yeah, no problem, so-and-so that absolutely I can, no problem at all. And she shed a tear and I said so what's, what's wrong?
Speaker 1:I gave her like a half hug, you know, kind's the anniversary when my child, something happened to them and they died, and and so you know it just made me realize that outside of all the joking, outside of the very strong personality, there was a person, a real person there, and that made me really learn a lot about that. And and just remember from that time it was like we kind of bonded for a second. And so I love that, before we put the scrubs on, before we put our you know PPE on, we put our hat cover, on our face mask, before we put our pens and everything in our pocket or whatever we do, a little special notepad that goes in our back pocket, like there's environments that we've been exposed to, there's things we've had, there's wounds, there's pain, there's hurts, there's joys, there's things we've had, there's wounds, there's pain, there's hurts, there's joys, there's sadness, there's everything right. We bring that to work. It comes with us in our departments, it affects us at different times. It's, you know someone will say why are you pushing my button right? Why are you touching on that reserve nerve?
Speaker 1:This one lady used to say, and so I think that you know, just as we navigate through you know sterile processing. We might deal with a department where there's lacks of good leader. Maybe it's a bad toxicities there or you know, there's not a lot of growth opportunity or maybe there's some burnout. But if we can get to know each other in the break room, it's not just about eating. It's a good chance to get to know each other. You got those team building activities, outings Maybe you go to, you know, topg golf or ride the go-karts with your co-workers on the weekend or after workers. On those those little moments they really help you to bond and you learn each other and that helps you as you navigate. So I think kindness is really important. But I just want to add that about how spending the time to really get to know each other and understanding you know some of the things that have happened outside of SPD that do impact who we are and how we can service each other. So just thought I would add that into this discussion.
Speaker 2:We are all people.
Speaker 1:Yeah for sure, absolutely no. I think you know kindness, there's a relationship between culture, kindness and ownership, you know. And consistency, you know, plus organization, plus accountability, can equal kindness. And so, you know, leaving a space better than we found it understanding. You know why that matters. And then you know, moving from a blame culture to a team-centered culture, and then remembering to include these two small but big words into our daily conversation is the words thank you. You know how important thank you really is. But how do you feel we create a space where people want to be consistent and organized in sterile processing?
Speaker 2:Goodness, that's a good question. How do we create a space? You know, again, we've talked a lot about it. You know, we have to understand or we have to realize we're all people, we all have feelings, we all have different personalities. We've had different life experiences before we met and converged into this department that we work in. Right, and I mean I've been to many seminars about the different generation gaps and, you know, learning to deal with older coworkers, younger coworkers, trying to get everybody to be cohesive, it's it's not, it's really not easy, and and some places I've been in have a really great culture and the department's great and they just hum along. And other places everybody's just, you know, and you it really comes down to the individual personalities.
Speaker 2:So I think, and I know one department that comes to mind there's definitely a lot of age gaps and this and that, but this department hums and part of the reason is because the supervisor is all over it, man, she hears about a little, you know, scuttle or a little something. She goes and grabs the two people that are involved, brings them into her office, sits them down and says, all right, let's talk about this. Like she cuts it off right at the knees and I think that's fantastic because she runs a tight ship. She reads IFUs, she follows IFUs, she follows processes. She's my hero.
Speaker 2:But she also has her ear because she's out. She's not necessarily in staffing, but she's on the floor Right. Ear because she's out. She's not necessarily in staffing, but she's on the floor right. So she's not, you know, squirreled away in her office with, you know, not paying any attention. She is, she is all over it and the minute that something is not right, she brings the people together and sits them down this close to each other and makes them talk, and I think that's fantastic. If I run a department again, I will definitely practice her management style, because I think that's fantastic.
Speaker 1:When I was managing I always made time for one-on-ones. Even now leading a team, I used to do it when one person's maybe at lunch just having conversations and having that time for them to really share and open up and actually writing down the ideas and incorporating the ideas in. When they ask a question like, hey, how should we do do this? And someone says something like really making sure that that that they see some of those changes within the department, so that helps, so that they're not feeling like, oh, I'm sharing but nothing's happening. But they're coming in, they feel that you're implementing their process improvement ideas and I noticed that that really helps to strengthen the culture in the department, you know.
Speaker 2:No, I agree. I think one-on-ones are fantastic too, because it just gives some direction to the employee and lets them know, you know, either you're on course or you're not on course, or just gives them, like you said, an open avenue to talk about whatever they want to talk about. You know, if there's, if everything is status quo, so just that check-in, like, hey, I care about you as a person, yes, I may be your manager, what have you, but I still care about you as a person, as an employee, as a contributor to this department. You know the whole bit and sometimes you know people will be like you know what is your top motivator for working? Everyone thinks it's money. Well, that's. That's not necessarily true. Some people want a pet on the back, some people want that interaction. So those things are important too. The intangible things are important. It's not just the money.
Speaker 1:I think that's really true. Definitely, you know people are looking for. They are looking for money, but they're also looking for growth opportunities. They're looking to be accepted right, to find somewhere where they can fit in, where they feel like you think about how like like leaders are to. They're kind of like farmers, right, they're planting seeds, they're casting vision, and when you find those people that really buy into it and that really see it for what it is and they want to be a part of it, it's creating those opportunities. So I think that was really great. What's a mindset shift you wish every tech could adopt today Mindset shift.
Speaker 2:I mean, you know we have our passionate people. Those are good. That's a good mindset. I wish, you know, the unpassionate would adopt the passionate. You see a technician that's really, really engaged and doing well. You would like them to kind of rub off on the bad apples instead of the other way around, kind of thing. So you know, you see all kinds of different things. So I guess I wish there would be more positivity, because as we talk to you know, we get a little beat down sometimes. So I think those things, I'd like the good to overtake the bad.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I agree with you a hundred percent and I really appreciate you for sharing that, because that's that's so true. We want to make sure that there's more deposits in the department than there are withdrawals. Right, that way we can continue to keep moving forward. And so, carol, you've dropped so many gems today, but I want to end with a challenge, for that. You're saying like man, that's me, I'm definitely a scopper, for sure. Maybe you've been cutting those corners or just trying to keep up. What's one small habit, carol, that they can start today? That will change everything for that tech.
Speaker 2:One small habit. I really think it kind of goes back to what we talked about in the beginning. Just be respectful. You know, like we said, it doesn't cost anything for me to say hello to you. Don't walk by my desk and ignore me, kind of thing. Just be kind, give grace to one another and be kind to one another, and I think everything else will really fall into place.
Speaker 1:Well, that's great. You heard it firsthand from Carol Malone. She said it, she said it right there. Just show respect, be respectful. That's a great, great note to end on for this episode. We appreciate all you for tuning in today to the Sterilization Station. We had a great conversation today on consistency and organization and you learned about scoppers and that's something that Bill and Carol coined together. And so please you know comment or subscribe to the podcast. We have more episodes coming. If you're out there and you say, hey, I'm listening in, I got something I'd like to add into the conversation, please send me an email at sterilizationstationatoutlookcom. You can find me on LinkedIn. Bill Rochelle, once again, just keep doing what you're doing out there. You're the unsung heroes. We don't wear capes, we wear scrubs. Keep making a difference and appreciate everyone and really appreciate Carol for joining us again today and look forward to more sessions together with her in the future. And thank you, carol, for coming. We really appreciate you here at the sterilization station.
Speaker 2:Thank you for having me.
Speaker 1:Absolutely. Everyone out there have a great day, afternoon or evening, depending on where you're tuning in from, and we'll see you in the next episode.
