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
Confronting Toxicity in Sterile Processing
Toxicity in the sterile processing workplace damages not just team morale but also impacts patient safety, retention, and outcomes. HSPA President Arlene Bush joins the podcast to share strategies for identifying and addressing toxic behaviors to create healthier department cultures.
• Poor communication, blame culture, disrespect, and lack of leadership support are major contributors to SPD toxicity
• High turnover, resistance to change, gaslighting, and lack of accountability serve as red flags for toxic environments
• Documentation is essential when addressing workplace toxicity—"if it wasn't documented, it never happened"
• Leadership must directly address toxic behaviors when they occur rather than hoping problems will resolve themselves
• Involving staff in processes and decisions helps create buy-in and reduces resistance to necessary changes
• Small positive changes like greeting colleagues and sharing knowledge can have significant impacts on department culture
• Being intentional in communication and expectations helps prevent misunderstandings that can lead to toxic interactions
• Speaking to leaders first before escalating issues gives them an opportunity to address problems at the department level
Remember, toxicity thrives in silence, but change starts with one person who's had enough. Subscribe to Sterilization Station wherever you get your podcasts, share this episode with someone who needs to hear it, and stay sharp, stay focused, and always remember to stay sterile.
Welcome to another episode of the Sterilization Station, the podcast where sterile isn't just a standard, it's a mindset. I'm your host, bill Rochelle, and today we're cutting deep into a topic that every sterile processing professional has either seen, felt or quietly struggled through toxicity in the workplace. From subtle undermining to outright bullying, toxic behaviors in SPD departments not only damage morale, but they also impact safety, retention and patient outcomes. So today we're not just identifying the problem, we are bringing in the solution. And joining me is a powerful voice in our field, someone who doesn't just lead, she lifts. Arlene Bush is with us today to talk about how we fight, overcome and challenge toxicity in sterile processing. So get ready. As for anyone who's ever thought this isn't how it should be, and I'm ready to help change it I'm really excited to have arlene today. And so arlene bush. She holds certifications in crcst, crmst, cis, cer, chl, sme and dsmd. I think I'm gonna need a glass of water, y'all. Those are a lot of certifications there.
Speaker 1:If sterile processing had a royal court, arlene bush wouldn't be sitting on the throne crown and all. Arlene bush would be sitting on the throne, golden crown and all. Since 1998, she's been conquering the industry worldwide, ensuring that medical instruments are cleaner than a monk's conscience. A subject matter expert with HSPA, arlene holds enough certifications to make a resume jealous. As chair of HSPA's nomination committee 2019 to 2020, she made sure only the sharpest minds and hopefully the cleanest scalpels stepped up to lead. Now serving as president of HSPA, arlene doesn't just set policies, she writes the rulebook. As Communication Director for FIRE Florida Intercoastal Reprocessing Educators, she's on a mission to spread knowledge, like hand sanitizer in flu season, through articles, speeches and a commitment to training future professionals. In short, arlene isn't just shaping sterile processing. She's ruling you with expertise, leadership and just the right amount of sterilized SAS.
Speaker 2:Well, thank you, sir. I appreciate being here today. It is a pleasure for me to kind of get out with some of our members who have shows and make it a point to get on them. So thank you for inviting me to your new show.
Speaker 1:Thank you. Thank you. I'm so happy to have you here and just really looking forward to a great discussion. This is such a topic that's really close to my heart and close to a lot of hearts, especially anyone who's in leadership that, or even just a technician in general who's experienced toxicity and wondered you know, how do we fight it or what can we do? I identify it, I know it's here, I feel it, I'm bearing through, what can I do? And so I know this episode for sure is going to have a great impact, and I thought it would be great to have the newly elected HSPA president to come on here and have this conversation, so it really means a lot. Thank you for supporting me through the podcast. You've been of my top fans rooting me on and so just really really glad to have you here. So definitely want to dive into understanding toxicity in sterile processing, and so how would you define toxicity in sterile processing based on your experience?
Speaker 2:I would say that a few things that contribute to toxicity in sterile processing would be like poor communication. The blame culture. It's not me, I didn't do it. Disrespect, neglect of procedures, like lack of doing the right process or procedure for your healthcare system, Definitely contributes to a toxic environment right. No, absolutely Lack of support from leadership. You know we report things and nothing happens and no one ever gets in trouble. I'm just not going to say anything anymore.
Speaker 2:And that just adds to the toxicity level, right, yeah, absolutely Difficult departments or shifts that we've worked on somewhere sometime during our career. We've had to pivot and we've had to learn to adapt to other people, may it be a veteran who's been in the field for 35 years or somebody who's just entering the field. There's always that kind of you got to figure each other out right. So some people might take it as, wow, you're being really rude and other people are like this just me every day. That doesn't mean you get to treat people like crap and expect that to be a conducive work environment. You know, come in today and be like hey, good morning, good morning goes a long way, right. How are you? How are you doing this morning? You know, did you have a rough way to get to work? Were you late? Half of the battle some days is getting to work right kind of downhill from there.
Speaker 2:But you know, just thinking about those items that kind of really does throw the toxicity level through the roof. When you have a poor communication, people are just trying to figure things out. You know they're not communicated to and you and I both have been frontline techs. We're like huh, that sterilizer has been down for a couple of days. I wonder what's wrong with it. Not, you know, I don't see a work order on it. Are we not using it? Should we just test it and use it? Goes back to poor communication. How come nobody knows what's going on with this piece of equipment? Why back to poor communication? How come nobody knows what's going on with this piece of equipment? Why is it down for multiple days? Or like when something comes up broken but nobody did it? Who broke this monitor in Deacon Tam? I don't know, wasn't me. I wasn't even in Deacon Tam yesterday. I wasn't in Deacon Tam this whole week. But the monitor is broken.
Speaker 2:Doesn't that add to a toxic culture? People are afraid to bring things up and are afraid to talk about things. But when you see it, cite it, write it. If you don't do anything to change the outcome, how can you expect a different outcome. You know, don't expect somebody else to fix it.
Speaker 2:We're supposed to be adults so we're supposed to be able to have hard conversations, but a lot of people don't. They would rather talk behind your back versus speak to you and say, hey, did you say this or did you do this, or can you help me here? Those are just conversations people in general need to navigate through right. It's not just in sterile processing, we could say that in health care as a whole processing, we could say that in healthcare as a whole. That communication, or poor lack thereof communication, does contribute to a hostile work environment. Some other things that you know would lead kind of would be the next step in a toxic culture. What are some red flags? High turnover rate, where that's kind of a revolving door. That's not very good for morale. You constantly have leadership coming and going and everybody wants to be the next, latest and greatest right.
Speaker 2:And then they make changes and some of the changes didn't need to be made right that's true like some things, when you find out it works, leave it alone, right, right, if it's working, it's been working for 20 years, leave it alone. You don't have to change that. Change something else again poor communication, the resistance to change, like you might want to implement a change that you know will benefit everybody. But getting that buy-in for people who say, oh my god, we're just making another change, we're gonna have another policy. Right, intentional, in your communication when you're making a culture change, make sure you understand, like, say it out loud to the staff and then repeat it back and have them repeat it to you.
Speaker 2:This is the expectation we are setting, right. Do you understand what the expectation is? Do you have everything you need to you? This is the expectation we are setting right. Do you understand what the expectation is? Do you have everything you need to do this expectation? Like, let's say, we're getting a new instrument set in. Do we have all of the brushes to clean this instrument set? Do we know what size the lumen is? Do we know what cycle we're running it on? Is it going to go into a container or will it be wrapped? If you don't know that type of information, it's going to make it hard to process that tray right.
Speaker 1:That's true, yeah.
Speaker 2:So having worked all of that out before you get in front of the staff is going to kind of knock down some of those what-if questions. We're going to report it out, we're going to have it out, we're going to have intentional education about this change or this new trade coming in, we're going to communicate as to where these items that are needed to process this trade are located and we're going to do our due diligence on the front end Before we go stand in front of the staff. Has anybody actually walked the process? You can make a process in a conference room, right, but have you gone to the sink to see that it's actually achievable?
Speaker 1:Right, that's really good. What do you feel are some things that particularly make a department vulnerable for some of those red flags that you just took the time to describe?
Speaker 2:Well, because it's like human nature right. So, a high turnover rate, poor communication, the resistance to change gaslighting that's been huge lately, like gaslighting people because nobody likes to be out there on the street by themselves.
Speaker 1:Right.
Speaker 2:And lack of accountability. Omg, right now that's kind of been highlights of huddles lately. Accountability we all need accountability, even myself. Even be an hspa president sometimes I need to be rung back in sometimes and just when I get off on a tangent and be like okay, focus right right so just you know, all of all of that really does lead to the hostile workplace. How?
Speaker 1:are we going?
Speaker 2:um, how are we not going to behave like this? Aren't we supposed to be on the same team or fighting against each other? And those are have to work through, like when you involve the staff and processes, it's definitely better received right absolutely, yeah, absolutely they feel like they've had a hand in the process and creation of this culture.
Speaker 2:It's normally you get more buy-in because they understand it. What behind the why? So I think again, trying to eliminate some of this toxic behavior and being intentional in your movement and how you deliver things to staff and having worked out and doing your due diligence on the front end will eliminate kind of that unsureness. Once you get to that here, we're going to report this out, we're going to educate this out. We're expecting this change to occur, but you've got to round back on it too, right. Is it successful?
Speaker 1:Did it fail. When you speak of being intentional, can you go a little bit into that, like as it pertains to addressing toxicity?
Speaker 2:sure. So if you witness toxicity in your department let's say, a new employee doesn't know how to do a process but an old employee won't share their knowledge that's forming toxicity, right? When you see that address it Right right, everyone's job description for sterile processing states some sort of you will train others. Remind them of that. If you don't want to train folks, how could you be fully successful at your job if it's part of your evaluation? People forget about that, that someone shared their knowledge with you when you came in and that's how you pay back and how you give back in our industry. Is you share your knowledge with somebody else?
Speaker 1:That's good, that's really good. Is you share your knowledge with somebody else? That's good, that's really good. Now, thinking about the impact of toxicity, can you share how you've seen toxicity affect the team's performance or morale?
Speaker 2:I feel like if your toxic level is high in your department, or let's just say in your healthcare system as a whole, your error rates are going to be high because the accountability rate is not going to be there. No one's going to hold people accountable when they're forgetting ads and some trays. You normally don't get marked off for having too much, but you do for having too little, so things like that will affect the morale of your department real quick. People always remember the things you did wrong, not the 700 trays you did right. So when you get a defect to the OR and it hits the department, doesn't matter what shift it was on makes the whole department look bad, so it needs to be addressed to the staff. That way, it doesn't matter what happened, we can always learn from it. Right, that's good. Yeah, I mean, some staff felt like they don't do testing of the machines.
Speaker 2:At previous places I've worked at Well, all that testing is done on midnights. A piece of equipment can come up at any time of the day and you need to know how to bring it up regardless of what time the clock says.
Speaker 1:Right, yeah, so.
Speaker 2:I'll leave you to know how to return a piece of equipment to service, even if you don't do it day to day.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that's good.
Speaker 2:Do it after a hurricane, after a disaster? What happens if we have to bug out and we go mobile somewhere? Because that's very real, right Trailers and things. Mobile units are becoming kind of a norm around healthcare systems.
Speaker 2:Yeah, that's really good. So things like that can really add to the demeanor, the success of the sterile processing team, and it's something that you know know for a lot of many years, like diversity, inclusion, which is kind of a taboo topic topic right now with diversity and inclusion. A lot of this behavior was prohibited in health care systems, wasn't it? You acted like this and there were, you know, consequences for this type of behavior, but I feel like leadership doesn't document behavior like this anymore.
Speaker 2:Toxic being because it's a lot of paperwork, it's a lot of documentation, but if you don't document it, it didn't happen, right.
Speaker 1:Right right.
Speaker 2:And how are you, as a leader, going to go to HR and be like all right, this person is toxic if you don't document occurrences Right, like all right, this person is toxic if you don't document occurrences right. And that's where we kind of need to, as leaders, manage up and manage out, because it's our responsibility to make it a non-toxic, cohesive, positive work environment. We're not, as leaders. We try our best to be positive every single day, right, and I feel like even as leaders, we don't get to say, well, I'm having a bad day today. You're a leader, you need to know how to switch it on and off.
Speaker 1:Yep, that's right.
Speaker 2:Figure it out. If you go walk down the hall, walk down the hall, but come on back here in about three minutes because someone's going to be looking for you. But that three minutes remind yourself what your purpose is. It's bigger than this moment yeah, no, for sure.
Speaker 1:Was there a moment, or maybe a story that sparked your commitment to challenge toxic environments?
Speaker 2:when I was first coming up. You know, and I'm talking, this is years ago and I don't even think the people who were involved are even practicing medicine anymore. But I was training as a new sterile processing instrument assistant. I was not certified yet and I had assembled a set of old J&J trays. Well, I forgot the screwdriver in a tray. J&j trays Well, I forgot the screwdriver in a tray and I can assure you I was made to feel like I was less than dirt under this lady's shoe that day. I was like my God, I don't know what I did, but I'm sorry, like I'm sorry. I don't even know what you're talking about. I can't even picture this tray and I haven't even clocked in yet. I just came to bring my. I don't know what you're talking about. I don't have any scrubs on she's. Like you're going to get fired in front of multiple people in a break room and I was the late Carol. I worked from like 1230, didn't I? So, whatever I did, I just had to make an executive decision and ask for forgiveness tomorrow.
Speaker 1:Right right.
Speaker 2:But it, you know, it was a pivotal point for me because, moving forward, once I found out, once this lady stopped freaking out on me and she was literally spitting on me she was so mad. Once I found out what she was talking about, I can assure you the next time I assembled that tray, that screwdriver was the first thing I put in that tray, always first thing I put in that tray. Always, every time I saw that tray of the screwdriver was the first thing I did. I never made that mistake again, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever. And I always tell people make sure you put screwdriver in there. You don't want to get talked about at the OR desk because I did.
Speaker 1:Was there a moment or story that sparked your commitment to challenge toxic environments?
Speaker 2:Coming up as a new tech, I forgot a screwdriver in a tray, which led to being made fun of at a huddle. So nobody ever wants to have that happen to them. I can assure you. The next time I assembled that tray I didn't forget the screwdriver ever again in my career.
Speaker 2:But that was really kind of the brunt of my, the beginning of my toxic environment, right, and how did I deal with that? I went to my supervisor, who wasn't present at that huddle, and told her. You know how I felt with. That guy was singled out. I was the new kid on the block in a department full of veterans. So any mistake it had to be me right, because I'm the new kid. Whether I did the mistake or not, it was my fault.
Speaker 2:So it was interesting because there hadn't been a new employee in that department for seven years. I was the new kid on the block. After seven years I didn't even know our department existed. But the manager was very nice and she literally got us together and we had a mediation session with HR and they finally, you know, kind of welcomed me in. But it took that HR meeting to kind of get the door open. But it was well received when I brought it to management, like we got to handle that better, right, and they and they agreed that it could have been handled better. But that was kind of like the hey, she's not just going to lay there and take it, she's going to kick back. And we really didn't have any other issues. Those people we went out to breakfast like every Saturday but that really was kind of the see how far they could push you before you would push back.
Speaker 1:Right, so that was one incident, but would you say that there was a culture, maybe in this department?
Speaker 2:I think that was the defining factor, because after that there weren't occurrences, but it was again the new person on the block right it had to be me who made the mistake. I owned it. I did make the mistake, but it certainly could have been handled a different way. And because I pushed back that early on, it kind of set the tone for everyone in the department, Like, hey, we got to be a little more receptive to new people in our department, because I was the onset of the new people, if you will.
Speaker 2:We were expanding our surgical complexity at the local hospital and we were adding to shifts like we were going to do a third shift type of thing, because at the time we only had two shifts. So we kind of had to get these veteran folks open to new people on the floor. And it kind of set the tone for that, because after that we were floated to other campuses. So you kind of had to get out of your shell because you were expected to go perform at other campuses after you did eight hours at your main campus. Yeah, that's a whole nother talk show.
Speaker 1:For sure. So what do you think are some strategies that helped you personally shift or overcome toxic team dynamics?
Speaker 2:I'm just being steadfast and standing my ground right, documenting everything that happened without emotion. Just state the facts. You know date, time, place, people, that type of thing. Make sure you're documenting items because if you don't document, it didn't happen. And when we take something to HR we have the burden of proof. You have to have proof right. You have to be able to recall dates and times and what occurred and who was there and who did you tell and how did you escalate it. And you need documentation of that. And if you don't have it, it's kind of a he said, she said game, right, yeah that's really good.
Speaker 2:Well, I mean, even as leaders, right, we have to document items that happen between two employees, same incident type of thing right, we have to know occurrences even more than our team, our frontline staff. So, yeah, just make sure you're documenting everything and it doesn't have to be like a full-on dissertation, just dates and time, things that happened so you can recall it when you need it.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that's really good dates and time things that happened so you can recall it when you need it. Yeah, that's really good. How can frontline staff feel empowered to speak up without the fear of retaliation in the work?
Speaker 2:you bring it up right. It's really how you kind of handle it in a professional way. You can't just roll in the office and be like she doesn't like me. Well, first of all, to whom is she? You know like, let's start the first of all. Do I need to get a piece of paper and a pen? Are we documenting this conversation?
Speaker 1:right, are you?
Speaker 2:just venting, like I need to know before we start this conversation, like do I need you know, do I need you to sign something like a waiver, or are we just having a combo? He's just, and that's really the first step, right. And then two like if you don't put something in documentation, how do you expect me to document it for HR? You got to fill something out, if you want me to fill something out.
Speaker 1:And serial processing. It's always said right, if it wasn't documented, it never happened.
Speaker 2:So I actually have a wooden plaque for my desk that said but did you document it?
Speaker 1:Right, exactly.
Speaker 2:Just making sure that your documentation is on point. That's a really key. You know, see it, cite it, write it. Just like the old saying goes, you have to document everything these days, like six ways to Sunday, but your documentation is really what's going to save you Because again, you have the burden of proof, right, when you bring up an issue or you take something to HR, they're going to ask for the same type of documentation. So be mindful of that.
Speaker 1:That's really good Thinking about tools for change, building a healthy SPD culture like what role should department leaders play in stopping toxic behaviors?
Speaker 2:Well, they need to stop it, they need to document it, but they also need to address it right. When you hear people, make sure you're hearing both sides of the story. It's not like if the person who self-identifies an issue with another employee is the one who's being heard the most. If you will, just because somebody self-identifies, it doesn't mean they're not in the wrong.
Speaker 1:Right.
Speaker 2:Making sure that we, as leaders, are addressing toxic behavior. You know, just don't sweep it under the rug and be like I don't be better tomorrow when you're the one who is the butt of the joke. It makes for a very long day, right, you're constantly clock watching, you don't want to come to work. It makes for an eight hour day be like an eternity. And you're normally with your work family more than when you're with your own family, and it would be a cohesive relationship if everybody kind of got along.
Speaker 2:Now I get that we're not all at our best or given 100 every single day. Not, I don't expect miracles, I'm not at my best every single day, but I try. I come in, I try to leave my family personal stuff at the door and I give 110%. Do I give 110% every single day? No, but I try.
Speaker 2:So that's really half the battle, especially when you have people who are butting heads and even if it doesn't involve you, it involves you because you still got to hear the bickering and that changes your persona and your whole karma and outlook on the day and you don't want to be part of that either. So, just again, as leaders, we really need to address that kind of when that behavior occurs, because everywhere has kind of a diversity and inclusion policy. Everybody has kind of a code of conduct, and code of conduct it means a lot of things right. Like if you made somebody feel bad, it doesn't necessarily mean it's someone in your department. Somebody could have been offended walking by you in the hallway from the language you used between a conversation between you and a friend walking down the hall and were offended and made a complaint. Like that's very real. Or you were talking off cuff in the cafeteria and a leader heard you or a visitor heard you and made a complaint. That's very real, yeah it's so true.
Speaker 1:I always like to say that toxicity starts in the person. A lot of times people will be like, oh, this place is so toxic, but you're adding to the toxicity or adding to the fuels. You have to really learn how to manage yourself and bring the issues to the right places, being strong enough and bold enough because you value that team culture and camaraderie to mediate right and say hey, you know, you guys have a challenge. Let's have a conversation on this.
Speaker 2:Yeah, you need to really need to be a good mediator when you're a leader, and even the different the size of your team, right? I've been in places in Orlando where two employees were full on fist fighting in the department, like over the supervisor's head, and when I walked in there I was just like I cannot believe what I am seeing. But all I said was get in the conference room now all of them and I was just like like I can't believe what I'm seeing. I walked in here and it was utter chaos and literally they were going at it and I was just like I can't, I don't care what it is, grill it up and eat it, I don't care.
Speaker 2:We have a job to do here and if you guys can't do this job, then you can't work here yeah, exactly that's good but it was it kind of set the tone for everybody else in the department that, look, you're not just going to act any way you want to, I don't get to come in here and act any way I want to, but it was also a big metropolitan area, right. So people are a product of their environment. So some people are coming from really diverse backgrounds, you know, coming from nothing, and this job is really the best thing that's ever happened to them in their life. This was their come up, so to speak. So if they've never had conversation like professional conversation with doctors and nurses and things like that before, they may not have the same lingo, right, or the same vocabulary that you would have for somebody who's been in medical field for 20 years. You just have a different lingo. When you're in the medical field for a long time, you already know kind of the different little acronyms and things.
Speaker 2:And somebody who hasn't been exposed to the health care field- might not know that or how to act in those professional settings, because that's not really a taught thing, right? It's kind of a learned thing. You learn how to act in professional settings. You don't go to school to be more professional, you just kind of know how to be professional. You see other leaders settings. You don't go to school to be more professional, you just kind of know how to be professional. You see other leaders act. You learn from other employees and how they act. So if you allow employees to be toxic, that toxic behavior is going to roll out to more people and more people and more people and it's going to get worse where it gets better.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and there's a lot of factors too, like especially leadership, like if you have leaders that are allowing like favoritism to enter in, that's going to impact toxic. Leaders have such a big responsibility in helping to create the cadence or rhythm of culture and even how toxicity grows, so I think what you're saying is really good.
Speaker 2:Yeah, there's a lot of different ways to break that up too.
Speaker 1:That's really good. It's like what would be some small changes that can have big impact.
Speaker 2:Well, just, you know, within the department, right, you want to involve everyone in processes and changes, because when you involve everyone, then people feel like they're communicated to, they're involved in the process and that normally is a lot more of a cohesive relationship. But if somebody is gone and not included in a process, change or something that doesn't, that oftentimes like if you skip a step, the new step was added and you skip it people are all mad like, oh my god, now I gotta send this tray back because you didn't scan it at the sink way to go. What are you doing back there in decon? Because some people have sequins on and that makes people angry. Like, oh my god, I was just getting ready to assemble this tray, we need this tray and now it's got to go back through the washer.
Speaker 2:So that type of behavior, right, doesn't harbor a professional relationship or a good day. Or now you're going to be mad and you're going to go to lunch. Man, you're going to be mad for the rest of the day until the next good song comes on and decon. But it's things like that. People react differently to different situations. So if somebody is hateful to you, you're going to end up being hateful to somebody else. It's like a snowball effect and it happens very quickly in health care. It really really does. Kindness costs nothing yeah that's so true.
Speaker 1:So if someone's listening in a toxic SV department right now, they're tuned in, they're listening in. What's your message to them?
Speaker 2:before you go over my head. I can't fix it if I don't know about it. So give me the opportunity to fix it. Let me do some mediation. If that doesn't work, I welcome you to go to HR.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that's good.
Speaker 2:If you feel like there needs to be that type of intervention, I welcome you to go to HR. Make sure your ducks are in a row, because mine, will be when we get there.
Speaker 1:Yeah, no, that's good. Yeah, that's good, no, it's really good. And how can listeners take the first step toward being part of the solution?
Speaker 2:Like I said, speak to your leaders, allow them to fix the issue, and if you again don't like the outcome of that or it continues, the behavior continues with, even after the employee was given direction, then you have some credible evidence there, right. So then I would definitely go to HR. If the behavior continues, you don't get anywhere with your immediate leadership, and then the employee continues to act the way they act or, you know, breaking the code of conduct, then I would make some more documentation, send some emails that we have something to recall. Stop having conversations. Tell me when you walk in the office you want me to grab a piece of paper and a pen and we can document that conversation.
Speaker 1:Right, no, that's really good.
Speaker 2:I'm going to send you after we speak. I'm going to send you an as per our conversation email, as per our conversation yesterday in reference to dot dot, dot, dot dot dot that resulted in a violation of this SOP or this violation or even the code of conduct, right? So you're documenting the conversation that you have with the employee. One it documents a complaint, two, policies that it affects or you're non-compliant with. So you need documentation kind of both ways One, that you had a conversation with the employee and that they're identifying an issue. And two, here were policies that it took to that they're noncompliant with or whatever violation it may be. But you're documenting it for a lot of ways, right?
Speaker 1:Yeah, that's really good.
Speaker 2:Because when HR says, hey, did you speak to the employee? I did on this day and the employee gets kind of validation that they were heard, they were listened to and that there was kind of health care, your healthcare facility policies were given in reference. What was the outcome? You know what was the action plan from that meeting.
Speaker 1:You know policies were given as to what the expectation is. Yeah, no, that's really good and I really appreciate all the things you're mentioning because I know you've got a lot of experience in sterile processing. You've seen, probably seen, some well-oiled machine, probably seen some environments where you're mentioning because I know you've got a lot of experience in sterile processing.
Speaker 2:You've seen probably seen some well-oiled machine, probably seen some environments where you're like, oh my goodness gracious. So it's great to hear your insight. If I find a place that's doing it right, I'm buying them lunch yeah, for sure, when I go and survey places and I find one that has zero findings, I'm buying them lunch.
Speaker 1:I haven't found one yet she's got the magnifying glass y'all.
Speaker 2:Yeah, like I'm hopeful when.
Speaker 1:I go to education days.
Speaker 2:I'll be the only person that finds tape on the ceiling Like why is there tape right there?
Speaker 1:Yeah, I need to stop looking up Right, stop looking up, no. But I appreciate now for the listeners that are listening in to Sterilization Station and they want to reach out to you, touch base with you. How can they find you and how can you be reached?
Speaker 2:The best way is to find me is to look me up on LinkedIn.
Speaker 1:LinkedIn.
Speaker 2:Yeah, that's right, I'm on a bunch of podcasts. I'll be doing a podcast with infection control today this year, so I'll be out there doing that. I am part of the Florida Fire Chapter. You can always find me on an education day here in Florida National Conference. You can always find me on an education day here in Florida National Conference. You can always find me there. But I am widely out there on social media platforms, so reach out.
Speaker 1:No, that's great. And then I just have a bonus question this one, you did not expect this, but with being the newly elected president, like, what are some things that you plan to do, or what are some things that are on your radar as it pertains to your new role in the president, okay, this is an easy question.
Speaker 2:I studied for this one. First and foremost, it's always required certification. That's always been at the realm for me, even before I was in this seat. I've always kind of been deep dived into states that have required certification currently and ones that we're working on. We just got one, actually, minnesota. It's got out there so like literally this week, so that's big news. So there's another state out West we had never had, which is a huge plus for our profession. Doesn't matter what state gets required certification, it just is good for our entire profession.
Speaker 2:We continue to go to Capitol Hill to do lobbying with senators and legislatures again for different states to try to get different states on the bandwagon as far as required certification. Our strategic plan for HSPA is a huge moving force for presidents, so we want to stay in line with our strategic plan. And third is upping our membership. You know, making sure those people in our industry we have like 66,000 certificate holders. About 30,000 of them are members, so it's kind of crazy right when you think about it. We really need to up our membership, so having people pay that $10 up, having the ability to vote, having free lesson plans. We've made a lot of different changes from 24 to 25 as far as what you get in your membership, so our free lesson plans, access to the process, voting rights. So I think some people get confused with they have recertified and being a member right, yeah, exactly, paying.
Speaker 1:The thing is they're paying, paying a little extra to get that membership and all the perks. Yeah, I'll definitely be announcing that on my podcast. You know, like to make sure, like you know, that people are registering, so you can definitely hold. Hold me accountable. I will be mentioning that on the podcast. Yeah, definitely, we want to up our membership.
Speaker 2:We're small but mighty in sterile processing but we are growing every day just globally and what we do and bringing awareness to our profession. So advocacy also is huge just for the association. But as sterile processing as a whole, we advocate all the time, don't we Just like having podcasts like this, just talking about our profession. We're advocating for our profession.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that's really good. One thing I'm really working on now is when I got in my car accident, I was reached out to. I wasn't sure what my next move was going to be, and I was reached out to by a lady at a. It's called Futura Health where they do apprenticeship programs for surgical tech and sterile processing, and so I didn't know if I was going to go back to work and I was at home, I was recovering and I really started to help her.
Speaker 1:I did a few polls on LinkedIn. I was able to get like at least 40 SBD leaders, directors or people that were at least giving some input if they were interested, and it's really interesting because it's a part of the Workforce Coalition, so they're paying for them to go to school. They've got the sites where they can do their hands-on training. They make 70% of the entry level wage until they get trained, and then 10% of that is paid for by Futura, and so I've been able to make a few connections. At my hospital, I actually got a presentation from Futura and I presented it to HR, and so HR is we're building the job description, so we're going to. We have a lady in our department, a housekeeper, who wants to be sterile processing. So we're starting with SPD, but it's pretty exciting to see the apprenticeship, so I'm trying to bring it out there to the healthcare. Like hey, if you're a hospital and you're looking for a way to upskill your workers and help them to, maybe you have some in the cafeteria grounds EVS pharmacy tech.
Speaker 2:Is there not a vocational school near you?
Speaker 1:that teaches sterile processing there is.
Speaker 2:There is schools, but not here. Like here in Florida some people don't know I recently took a job at an academy that's within a health care system. The health care system is doing something very similar where they're offering to teach hospital employees sterile processing and get them ready to sit for their certification, and they're paying them to go to school and get this training. But they have to, you know, do a commitment in sterile processing. So that's huge because there isn't a school in our area for about 150 miles. So that's kind of game changing here. So there isn't a way for people to get outside sterile processing education here in Southwest Florida. But it's interesting that there's areas that are, because you don't hear a lot about sterile processing kind of in curriculums outside of health care systems.
Speaker 1:Right, yeah, that's what. That's what I think it's pretty, it's pretty awesome. And and you might be thinking like Bill, what does this have to do with toxicity? Listen, growth opportunities and increasing staff are two ways to help improve toxicity.
Speaker 2:Right, because when you're in the trenches and the trays are stacking and there isn't anybody coming to save you, it becomes very overwhelming very quickly. Right, exactly, so that's why I think it's so when you come in, when you leave today and you come back tomorrow and there's more trays than there was yesterday, you're like oh my goodness, what happened? What happened?
Speaker 1:Exactly, and that's why I think it's so important. I was really glad to be able to meet and my podcast has been allowing me to make some connections. I was able to help a few of their students who went through their program before to get an externship, so I'm really thankful for this opportunity to help people. I'm really passionate about students. It's my top downloads are all about externs and students and helping to motivate them and inspire them, keep them highly motivated until they lock in their first sterile processing role.
Speaker 2:So it's pretty exciting Payment in the industry and that I don't need monetary payment. I need to know that you sat for your test to get certified. So my next question is going to be what's your next certification? Right and that's, and that's and that's really the next one we're doing. What's the next one?
Speaker 1:we're shooting for. That's really good. No, I appreciate this is a great dialogue. It's good to hear, awesome to have you here. Like I said when I first met you, but like we just connected right away, I'm definitely want to have you back on again, if that's okay to to help out with other topics and um like I said, I'm definitely I appreciate you having me on.
Speaker 2:Congratulations on your podcast. Welcome back to the industry. Thank you, jesus.
Speaker 1:That's right.
Speaker 2:About the graces of God right, absolutely, that's right historically in a different career and then ended up in sterile processing. If somebody had told me, you know, 26 years ago that I would be in healthcare for 26 years, I'd have said you're crazy, because most of my background was in computers, electronics and graphics communications and 26 years into healthcare. So who?
Speaker 1:knew. Yeah, no, absolutely so. Everyone. Just you know, toxicity thrives in silence, but today we heard the power of speaking up, standing strong and staying connected. A huge thank you to Arlene Bush for her courage, her leadership and her commitment to helping departments everywhere become places of strength and support. And change doesn't always start at the top. Sometimes it starts with one person who just simply had enough. So don't forget to subscribe to Sterilization Station wherever you get your podcasts, Share this episode with someone who needs to hear it and, until next time, stay sharp, stay focused and always remember to stay sterile. Once again, we thank you, Arlene, for coming today on the Sterilization Station.
Speaker 2:Thank you so much y'all. I appreciate everybody and everything that they do to keep our patients safe and to keep yourself safe out there. You know it's a constant struggle, but it's a fight worth fighting right, absolutely, I agree with you. Just know what you guys do is so important.
Speaker 1:Yeah, thank you very much. I second that as well. Thank you very much, and we're glad that Arlene came today and, like I said, I do not believe this will be the last time.
