Purpose, Patterns, and People: Finding Your Calling in Sterile Processing with Art Babiy"

In this inspiring episode, we sit down with consultant, mentor, and sterile processing leader Art Babiy to explore how sterile processing becomes more than just a job—it becomes a calling. From early setbacks and a personal infection story to a thriving career in consulting and mentoring, Art shares how consistency, commitment, coachability, and faith can transform not only your work but your life.

We dive deep into the mindset, skills, and heart it takes to excel in the sterile processing field—from recognizing patterns that solve problems to seeing people and purpose at the core of every tray you touch.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• Art’s journey from CNA and telemetry to sterile processing and consulting.
• How an early-life infection story led to a deep sense of purpose and calling.
• Why being consistent, committed, and coachable outweighs experience alone.
• How to adapt to vendor changes, quality standards, and evolving practices.
• The power of pattern recognition—both for troubleshooting and personal growth.
• Why sterile processing is not an assembly line, but a field full of high variation and critical thinking.
• How to integrate work, family, and faith without burning out.
• What Art calls “mental sterilizers”—podcasts, audiobooks, and reflection habits that keep your mindset sharp.
• How to empower yourself through focus, value creation, and preparation.
• Practical takeaways for mindset, mentoring, and daily habits that elevate your craft.

🎧 Take Action This Week:
If you’re a sterile processing tech or student, pick one way to elevate your work—mentor someone, double-check a process, or reflect on what your instruments teach you about precision and care.

If you’re curious or aspiring to join the field, reach out to your local SPD departments or connect with mentors like Art Babiy—he’s active on LinkedIn and always willing to help.

Chapters

• 0:00 Welcome and Guest Introduction
• 0:59 Art’s Path into Sterile Processing
• 3:12 Finding Purpose and Calling
• 5:36 Pride, Identity, and Growth in SPD
• 6:59 Beyond Technical Skills: Values and Mindset
• 8:32 Quality, Standards, and Vendor Choices
• 9:54 Pattern Recognition at Work and Home
• 11:11 Assembly Line Myth and Real Variety
• 13:17 Work–Life Flow and Human Connection
• 16:36 Loving the Work: Problem-Solving and People
• 19:13 Emotional Health, Presence, and Resetting
• 22:19 Faith, Resilience, and Mental Sterilizers
• 25:05 Empowerment, Focus, and Opportunity
• 30:02 Closing Takeaways and Calls to Action

Transcript

SPEAKER_01: 0:00

Welcome back to the sterilization station. This is Bill Rochelle. We've got another great episode today. Really, really excited that you have with us in the studio Art Baby. And we want to we want to welcome them to the sterilization station. So we're looking forward to having a great conversation. And this is that space where we slow things down and look beyond the instruments, the trays, and the sterilizers to the people who make patients safe possible. And so sterile processing is often called the heart behind the hospital. But it's also a journey, you know, it's one that's filled with precision, patience, and purpose. And so today we are looking forward to having a great conversation with Art, who is a respected voice in sterile processing, known for his dedication to excellence, mentorship, and inspiring others to find meaning in the work that happens behind the scenes. And so he reminds us that this field is not just about clean instruments, it's about clear purpose, teamwork, and growth. And so we're excited to explore his story, some of his insights, and the life lessons he's learned through sterile processing. And so just to get us started here, Art, how did you first get into sterile processing?

SPEAKER_00: 1:04

Well, Bill, I appreciate the intro. Uh it's really an honor to be on the podcast with you here today. So my journey is kind of interesting. I was a CNA for a long time, uh went to nursing school, and then as life happens, um, I ended up getting kind of swung into this uh role as a sterile processing technician. I remember working night shifts at a uh facility as a telemetry technician. So for those of you who don't know what that is, it's literally sat and watched monitors for uh 12 hours, uh 12 hours a day, and it just you'd observe these cardiac swiggles. And then if you had seen any issues, you'd report them out to your nurses. And then uh every hospital has a telemetry unit. But anyways, um I was doing that, and we'd had the scrub tech who had a friend who I worked with, and he would come up there all the time and he'd talk about you know surgery and all these other things. And I've, you know, I've had no idea what sterile processing was. And so somehow that conversation started there, and I found out that they had an opening, and he was like, dude, you should go apply. No clue what it is. Went down there, applied, had an interview. I absolutely loved the walkthrough. The walkthrough was absolutely phenomenal. And then I got denied the job. So, but now I knew what it was. I was definitely interested and curious, so I kept applying. I think the manager just got tired of looking at my resume and just finally said, you know what, dude, we're just gonna hire you. Because he was looking for certified employees. But because I've been with the health system for, or not health system, but the hospital for over, you know, 10 years, he's like, dude, this guy is solid. We're just gonna hire him, teach him, and keep him. And so about a year after he hired me, I went to travel. So I've been on the road since 2018 and really have never looked back. Um currently in a consultant role, and you know, that's that's got its challenges too, but really enjoy what I do.

SPEAKER_01: 2:47

Yeah, that's that's amazing, amazing journey. It's amazing how many people in sterile processing did not initially say after high school, I think I want to be a sterile processor. It's like they kind of kind of fall into it somewhere in school, you know, say I'm gonna do this while I'm learning, and then they just develop the passion for it. So really great to hear your journey and how you got into sterile processing. Uh, was there a moment when you realized this is where you're meant to be?

SPEAKER_00: 3:11

You know, I think there was. I think it was in uh my first or the second interview that I had there. When I walked through the building or through the area, SPD um, you know, prep and pack and decontam, and I just there was a rhythm there, a sound that I felt like it was home. Uh later, much later, actually, probably not until just a couple of years ago, the um, I don't know, it was a story my mom has always told me I knew about it. It's just it I made the connection was I when I was born, I was born in the Republic of Georgia, for those of you who don't know my background, but I wasn't born in the States, and when my umbilical cord was cut, it was cut with an unsterile instrument. And so at my younger years, I was very, very, very sick. I think there was sepsis. I don't remember exactly all the things that were going on because of it. But point, in fact, was I found that out, and then now I'm in the sterile processing field. I'm like, wait, what? It almost feels like a calling and a place I need to be. And I've really um, I don't know, that's put some meaning behind, I think, uh, some of the things that I have been doing. So I've really enjoyed it.

SPEAKER_01: 4:13

Yeah, that's really great. That's really great. What uh what do you what do you feel this career has taught you about yourself when you look in retrospect?

SPEAKER_00: 4:22

You know, I was looking over that question. I that's a hard one for me to answer. I don't know that it's um it it's probably allowed me to kind of discover who I am, my purpose, because I knew when I like when I was working as a CNA, not not um, I I had a hard time kind of connecting with the field and my career choice or pathway. I know that I really got burnt out as a CNA, and then I was looking at nursing school, I was like, man, dude, I don't, I'm not really feeling it. So when I became a sterile processing technician, I really felt um that it was my place and that I could tell people about it and I was proud of what I was doing. I think that I didn't really necessarily like think about those terms in that way, but I think that's kind of where I realized I was like, huh, that was kind of just something I thought back on and I was like, that that makes sense. I not only do I enjoy it, but I'm proud of what I'm doing what I'm doing. And I think that's a big part of that really helped shift, I think, how I carry myself maybe a little bit at home, you know, in the communities that I'm a part of. It really helped me kind of stand up a little bit inwardly, you know, because in previous career choices, it was more of like, I'm do this and not super proud of it, you know. But I think as of as as of picking this career and joining the um sterile processing repertoire, I've really been able to see that and kind of it it boosted my uh confidence, I think, really.

SPEAKER_01: 5:43

No, I think that's great. I think it's really great. You know, I know we're thinking about, you know, we're we're talking about how outside of just being a sterile processing technician, there's a lot more than just reprocessing um, you know, the instrumentation. Um and we think about what does it really mean to be a tech? And so I was curious how how do you personally define what it means to be a sterile processing professional beyond the technical side?

SPEAKER_00: 6:07

I think for um it uh for most of us it's an entry entry level job. So I think that really when I look at in an individual and I see like this drive in them, I you know, I I I kind of under the line that with um someone that wants to show up, be there, um, and want to keep learning. I think those are the maybe I would I would call them qualifications, maybe more so than um uh qualities, but qualifications upon which I think we can we can construct these uh technicians that would be successful in sterile processing as a career versus just a stepping stone.

SPEAKER_01: 6:42

When you think about values or qualities that make up a good technician, like what do you think about when you're thinking about what qualities or values make a sterile processor technician a great technician?

SPEAKER_00: 6:52

I think when we talk about values, you know, I think that they come outside, like you said, it's it's not a skill set, it's it's an inward, I think, direction that a person has. And so I was kind of reflecting on that and I was thinking about it. And I think that uh a person who is consistent, they're um they're committed and they're um coachable. Like these are three qualities I think that are a must. Whether, whether we it's it's we all have them in one part or another, I feel like. I think qualities or virtues are something we continuously can develop. I don't think that anybody out there is, you know, completely horrible. I think we all have all these pieces and bits, but we also need to build on them. So I think that those are the characteristics that I look for or see in myself as well. Like these are the things that I've learned to develop and work on and have done really well to help me move into different spaces that I've been a part of in sterile processing.

SPEAKER_01: 7:44

Yeah, I think that's phenomenal. You know, you think about like the definition will say that quality is the degree of excellence of of something or how well something meets its intended purpose or the characteristic or attribute of something. So you think about like different qualities that exist within people and different qualities that can even even like certain products, right? So we just uh basically were informed by our distribution department that we're gonna be um going to use a different vendor for wraps, and I don't won't disclose the information who they are, but I've used them before and they're they're not as high of a quality as some of the other reps. And so I was like, man, okay, this is interesting, right? Like I've been using them before and I know that to others they might just be, you know, because we're fairly we're fairly we have a lot of fairly new techs where I'm at. But for me, I've been here doing it for 20, 22 years. I've seen the good reps, I've seen the bad reps, so um it was just interesting to kind of see different different types of quality. So just was thinking about that as it pertained to you know to quality, degree of the degree of excellence uh of something. Yeah, yeah, good stuff. And then how no, thank you. Yeah, and then how has your work in SB sterile processing, you know, shaped how you show up in your personal life?

SPEAKER_00: 9:00

I think it's shown a lot of like pattern recognition. So we do a lot of, you know, hey, this is a process and this is how we do it, and then we do it over and over and over again, and then we kind of see the result of things on the other end, whether it's good or bad. I've seen that in my personal life. I think retrospectively you look at the things that you've produced result-wise, hey, I don't like this specific thing about me, or I don't like how I talk to my wife, Lily, or my kids, you know, and I'm like, well, what's the pattern? What's causing this? Right. And I track back and realize that, hey, like if you can wreck the result, you know you don't want it, and you can recognize a pattern of mind, like what's your mind going through? Like, why is this happening? It uh really uh helps resolve some of those uh other issues, I think, outside of work, you know. But it's it's it's pattern recognition within sterile processing, like, hey, this is why this is happening. I know why this is happening, and if you solve this here, this goes away. And it's very similar when when we look at our personal life in in in recognizing some of the issues we might see. I mean, obviously, speaking very simplistically here, yeah. But I think that that's that's a big part that I've been able to reflect on and see in my personal life.

SPEAKER_01: 10:10

Yeah, it's actually really good because you do see kind of you do get a chance to see patterns uh working in sterile processing. Like certain departments will kind of uh have people working in specialties, which I think has a great value from an efficiency perspective. But when you think about like the growth and development of your team as a whole, it's unless you have like a really um how you say, like a strategized approach to to training, then sometimes people don't get the opportunity to go into different areas. And so that's what I mean when I'm saying like sometimes people get stuck in doing the same thing over and over again versus being kind of that's probably another episode about cross-training and and you know, specialty focus versus it's like your decon, your decon one on Monday, your assembly, your decon two on Wednesday, on Thursday, you're picking cases, and on Friday you're you're you know, you're you're doing sterilization.

SPEAKER_00: 11:04

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01: 11:04

So it's it's really interesting to see that.

SPEAKER_00: 11:06

You know, I think no, I think that's just the reality of it. We we are looked on that way. But the problem is here's the other side of uh looking at our departments as uh uh an assembly line is that and this is this this goes to a conversation I had a while back ago, but uh because like my mindset was the same thing. We just we do the same thing over and over again. But in reality, it's it's very different because an assembly line, and he he he this is his example, not mine, but it works very well. You've you've got, you know, you typically in an assembly line, you have your you know, Toyotas, you've got your Hondas, and they all create the same car. We do the Honda, we do the GM, we do the Fords, we do the, you know, we do every single car and we switch it up almost every single time. Every tray, every time, every washing cycle, right? All these other instruments, you know, that we're dealing with all the time. So the variation of work that we have on a day-to-day basis is massive. There's nobody out there, unless you're working in a very small department doing the same surgeries over and over again, that you're gonna have like that laser-focused reprocessing variety, right? Like it's just gonna be the same thing over and over again. Most facilities, you're seeing spine, you're seeing joint, you're seeing neuro, you're seeing cardiac, you know what I mean? And all of that stuff is so different that it does require specialty-based technicians who are going to familiarize themselves and know those so well that there'd be, you know, a lower outcome of errors and things like that. But there's definitely ways that we can think about it that way. But I think I I think that um it's it's harder to think about in that way because of how much variation we have in all of our departments.

SPEAKER_01: 12:44

There's so many facets to being a sterile processing technician, right? And like you're you're a real person, you have fears, you have insecurities, you have doubts, you have successes. I love what you were speaking about, about the question originally, which was about like, you know, what have you been able to learn through being in sterile processing that you can kind of bring with you wherever you go. It's really interesting because I think about like like how instruments are made, right? Like the whole process an instrument goes through and relating that to like growth and development of the technician. You know, it goes through like forging and and casting and all these different pieces is try it in the fire. They take put it to the test. So it's interesting, like as a technician, like you go through those, the growth and development, and then the person that you are, you know, you you go home, right? And you're significant others, they see you going through these different growth pains. And so I think that in some cases we we don't really want to, you know, bring it home. And it kind of leads to the next question, which is you know, the flow between work life and community. And we often hear, you know, people say, like, you know, don't take your work home, but but is that really realistic in our field?

SPEAKER_00: 13:53

You know, think I think about work a little bit differently, I think, than most people. First of all, I love what I do. I don't want to retire. Um, I want to do it till they, you know, close the lid on my casket. And I I really want to be in it. So for me, work home, I I think it takes on a little bit of a different trajectory just because I feel like work is a part of who I am. Family is a part of who I am, right? So I, in a way, it doesn't identify me, but I identify with it. I don't know if that makes sense or not. And so I think that because of that, like I do, I do take work home with me, but I don't take home with me, like I allow it to process, right? But it doesn't disrupt me from being with my kids, being with my family, right? I can, I can, I don't necessarily compartmentalize, but I stop. Hey, let's let's address this issue and let's move on. I'm always thinking about new ideas. I'm always thinking about how things can be improved, right? And that's just part of who I am and how I live my life, right? And I don't think that, you know, because because family, you're you you invest the time and energy into your family, but family also becomes part of your work in a way, because like my kids know what I do. I show them what what I do, how I do it, right? I try to keep that in one way, not together necessarily, but like my coworkers, right? Not everybody, but a lot of them know who I am. They know who my family is. They they kind of, you know, some of them have interacted with my family, right? So like it becomes part of your life, so to speak. It's not it's not separate from it. I feel like to me, that's brought more value, I think, too, to who I am as a person because I try not to categorize things. I bring it all together and I live it in the moment. You know what I mean? I'm I'm not trying to categorize work here or family here, but living like my wife will text me or call me and then we'll have a little conversation here or there. Like it's all together and I don't try to separate. I don't know if it's good or bad, it's just how I do it. But I think it's been good because it gives me time for family during the day. It gives me time for work when I'm not at work. So it it kind of works out both ways.

SPEAKER_01: 15:52

No, I think that's really good. Um earlier you said something I thought that I wanted to just go back to because I wanted to kind of to get make sure I'm understanding it, and because I know that um would like for the those who are faithful listeners to be able to get the we call it the germ kernel in church, right? So the germ kernel is like the the corn that's actually on the on the husk. So you have to pull back the layer of the husk to where you get to the kernel of the corn. So pulling back on that question so you can really see what you're talking about. You were saying how m how you really love this type of work. Could you just maybe maybe like a minute or so to talk about what is that when you're talking about loving what you do? Just I want to to kind of hone in on that for a second.

SPEAKER_00: 16:35

Sure, absolutely. So I mean, day to day, first of all, I love people and I love to help people. And so a lot of what I do in my current position as a supervisor, project manager, interim consultant, that's kind of a mouthful. But what I do is I look at problems, I assess them, and I bring forth a solution and I and I kind of make a recommendation. Hey, I think we should do this here. And then what I get to see from that is that I see the result of that kind of diagnosis, so to speak. Hey, this is the problem. Let's try this solution, see if it works. It comes out, it works out, it's a win for everyone. Uh being around people where I'm, you know, down on the front lines, looking at the things that people are doing, problems that they're will that they're dealing with, but not even work. Like, I think like even outside of work, people, although we say we leave work at home, we just had that conversation, right? People are people, and I don't think that we can compartmentalize as well as we think we do. And it does come with us, whether we we acknowledge that or not. But I've noticed that it does, and when we address them here and the now, instead of just trying to put in a box somewhere, right? It a lot of times helps move things along so that you're not thinking about it. You know what I mean? Like random conversation today in the break room, right? One of our gals has had like eight deaths in her family. I'm like, oh my God. Because I've I like I noticed she's just like she's just down, you know what I mean? She's like, well, it's not, they're not super close or whatever. Um she's she lives she lives, she used to live in a different part of the country. She's moved over here, so she's not there. She's not, you know, but you're like, hey, you know, like I'm so sorry to hear that, you know, and thank you for being here. I appreciate you. And just saying things like that, I think like it's it's not work-related, right? But it's at work and it's life at work that we deal with, we connect on. I think that's what being a human being is about, right? It it yes, we have a process, we have things that we we need to adhere to, and we need to make sure that it's doing it because if it's not, OR is not running. And if OR is not running, money doesn't come. If money doesn't come, you don't get paid. So it's just kind of, you know, uh uh, what do you call it? Uh basic uh uh business uh 101 kind of thing, right? Like you have to be producing a certain amount of value to the organization in order for it to be able to pay you. Otherwise, it just does not work. But having said that, putting that aside, we're human and having that human connection at work. And that's what I do. Not only do I find the physical problem, the hey, one, two, three-step thing, but who am I working with? Where are they at, and how can we put them together so that they can use this solution well? Because you can have a great solution, but if the person whom you're working with isn't receiving and understanding how to implement that, it's not gonna work. It might be the best thing since Fly Spread, but it's not gonna work because the people implementing haven't made that connection. And I think that's part of what I get to do that I really do enjoy doing.

SPEAKER_01: 19:22

Yeah, I think that's really phenomenal. Really phenomenal because you're right. I mean, we are really, we're really people. We have experiences, exposures. Some people It's not AI yet, Bill. It's not AI yet. That's right. That's right. No, and it's true because sometimes so no, I I mean, I'm the kind of person that like I talk a lot about my day. I I'm a very talkative person, so when I come home, it's kind of like I've learned how to have the conversation in a way where um engaging my household to know what they're experiencing and trying to make sure that I'm not bringing like a negative concentration into the household. But I think to say that we don't bring home what we what we what we do, it's like like you said, it's really kind of a part of who we are. Most people that are successful in sterile processing, it's really funny that we work in an industry that's called patient care and health care. And so when you think about those two words, yeah, there's a word that's inside of that word, which is the word care. And most people who thrive in sterile processing is because they've developed a care for what they do. And I think that if you care, sometimes you are gonna have a conversation, you know, at home about a situation. And don't let it be a situation that you know you could have handled better. Like that's definitely coming out, right? Like, man, this happened. I know I could have been better, I could have did this differently. And so and understanding the dynamics of your jerk your team is so important, right? Knowing who's there, like you know that person that's dealing with some some a lot of you know, people that pass in their family, and you know, you're you're not only being, you know, sympathetic by saying, I understand what you're going through, but if you've ever lost someone, then you're now becoming empathetic because you know what it what what you go through and you're you know you're able to strategize and and creatively create a way to at least you know not put them in an area where maybe they feel overwhelmed. So you're kind of like you you you're able to gauge that and understanding that. So I think like what we do is so serious sometimes that you know we just have to learn how to have fun and right, make it make it fun because what we're doing is is very serious. But I think like understanding being able to to know like how at coming home, how much do you bring, right? Do you know like if my wife's going through a lot in her job, like I try not to come home and talk about my day. Sometimes I do. I catch myself, I get I I get that look. Then I know like, okay, right now it's time for me to listen to more listen to hers. I think it's a balance between it.

SPEAKER_00: 21:45

Yeah, absolutely. You know, and I've you know, having having someone at home too that can listen, or it's sometimes this is I think this is the separation between what what what we mean by taking work home with us or taking work, bringing home to work, is the leftover emotion that I feel like we we feel from a certain outcome, right? Situation, whatever it is, circumstance, right? And we tend to bring that same emotion back with us. I think if we can separate the fact that this event isn't representative of who I am or bringing that home to you, right? It's not a representative of who I am or how I feel towards the individuals at home, right? Because I think that's the problem, is that we we don't like what we did or something went wrong that's affected us. And then our emotion comes out, right? We we we we then become, whether it's, you know, absent absent from the current situation you are at home or vice versa, where you're not present at work, right? And the thing is, is it's just being able to separate those two situations, not necessarily take yourself out of it, but to be able to understand that, hey, it's not me necessarily, it might be the circumstance that I'm in, and just separating that out so that you can focus on the things that you're doing at work. I remember short story here, a situation. I we just first got married. I think this was like week one or two, something really big happened happened at home, and I just I couldn't get it together. Like I was at work, I was just gone. I remember coming home, but then like you you look back at your own life and you're like, oh my gosh, dude, like that's so funny that that was even a thing. But like we just, we just it blocks everything that's inside of our mind, right? Like it just completely paralyzes us for moving forward. And there's so many different situations in our life that we can, I think, see that. And that I think SPD has taught me that. Like, life goes on. Yes, that didn't work out. That should have been sterile like seven o'clock in the morning, but it wasn't. So what do we do next? And I think that's what we need to ask ourselves before we show up home to our house or before we come into work. Hey, what do I do here? Right? What can I put where what because we got to process, we're people, right? We have to process this. And sometimes it's you know, taking a day or two just to process. That that definitely happens.

SPEAKER_01: 23:52

Yeah, I think that's really good. No, I think that's excellent. Because you it's so true. We have to we have to know how to regroup ourselves while really making sure that the center is um our our emotional health, our physical health, our spiritual health, our um mental health, and so you know, then we then we think about connection and growth, right? And so how do we stay how do we stay grounded when the job does get stressful or sometimes feels like revenge? Yeah.

SPEAKER_00: 24:19

You know, I that reminds me of a situation where I was on a contract and I just I had a lot on me. I don't know about everyone, obviously, but I use a four-letter F word, faith. And that's that's I think that that's really what's taken me through through a lot of my rough times. Um there's a lot of I think uh growth in sterile processing just as a whole. I feel like we have a lot of things that we need to get done, but a lot of work that still needs to gradually kind of become. And so I think that when it becomes overwhelming, I definitely lean into that faith aspect of who I am and uh where I come from and just take time to really bring that out in that way. But I think I think I'm gonna leave it there.

SPEAKER_01: 24:57

No, that's good. I mean, yeah, I think your your faith is so important, right? Or whatever you're whatever you you as the person that's listening in, whatever it is that you you know you believe that you need to bring you peace or sometimes you just need to talk to somebody, right? So you got leadership there, supervisors there should have that open door policy to be able to speak to their employees. I think that's why we like to do regular one-on-ones, just checking in just to see, you know, really one-on-ones is the employees' time to really kind of share some things that they're working through or things that they need guidance on. Um but when you think about like what's your version of a mental sterilizer, something that helps you to reset and refresh.

SPEAKER_00: 25:39

So I'm a big like what I put in my mind, I produce mentality. You are what you eat. I guess maybe that's another another term term we could use or phrase. But I think that I'm a person I I listen to a lot of podcasts, listen to a lot of audiobooks, less, less, less now than I used to, but uh I think that those are the things that really help my mind kind of clean themselves out and really refocus. I had a really great clip today that I listened to, and uh it's by a pastor who created the largest church in I think Korea. It was, I don't remember exactly the big number, but it was in the millions of how big his church was. And he was just talking about some of the things that I've personally taken on. And in this, in this speech or clip, he was saying how we take on the responsibilities of God when God has said, I will provide that for you, right? And how when we do that, like that burden, we feel it, right? And so, anyways, that was kind of a clip from this morning, but just in general, I'm I'm always listening to podcasts and different things like that because it helps me realize, first of all, the problem that I'm currently dealing with, someone else has dealt with, um, and that there's always a light at the end of the tunnel, meaning that this is a through, this is a season, this is a time, um, and this too shall pass, right? That's another common phrase that that we use because hard times are good times, all these things come and go, but when we're in it is to try to use that specific circumstance, situation, whether it's good or bad, for personal growth and development, to make sure that, you know, my mind stays sharp, my mind stays clear and focused on the uh purpose and vision for what I where I want to be and whom I want to become.

SPEAKER_01: 27:25

Yeah, that's really great because you know, I think podcasts are really important. There's so many good podcasts out there that can inspire you and motivate you. I know I I try to incorporate a lot of positive empowerment, inspiration, motivation, because that's really what you know more made me want to start this podcast was just having there's lots of podcasts out there that are education strong. So I wanted to have something to you where you could tune in and hear some of the things that I know that I've experienced, like or you know, toxicity, bad leadership, you know, culture issues, short staff, mental health issues, you know, like this. How do you separate, you know, home from work? And so I think that's what I I started this. That's why I call this uh sterilization station, you know, an an empowerment podcast of serial processing to really empower the mindset, the heart, and just uh that things get better, things will get better, and that you know, empowering them through this episode, these episodes. So I think podcasts are a great way for you to connect and get encouragement. So that's really, really, really good. And then thinking about reflection and empowerment, actually moving into empowerment, if you could share one message with some some other text about embracing their whole self, not just their work self, what would it be?

SPEAKER_00: 28:41

I think honestly it's it's to keep your mind focused on the goal that you have in your mind, whatever it is. Um, and if you don't like the results, change, change what it is that you think about. I think your your our lives, really, anybody, I think, is a compilation of what we think about most. I think Napoleon Hill might have been the first one who had said that. But it's just it's it's what we think about. We produce the things that we think about most. And I think that our mind is a is an air is a battlefield, especially nowadays with all the social media, we're we're scrolling through stuff. But if we can control take control of the information that comes into us and say, no, I want to be this person or that person and start to bring into our mind those things that we want to become or whom we want to become like, I believe those things will start to come into our life. Because I don't I know that I didn't start seeing opportunities in sterile processing until I started to listen to people who talked about opportunities, you know, and what opportunities look like because I have no idea. I just, well, I want to get paid more. These people say not only do you you you can get paid more, but you should get paid more, right? But before you do, there's certain prerequisites, right? In order for someone to uh pay me more, I have to provide a bigger service or Higher service. Well, in my mind, I was like, well, what could that be? What could I do that would be providing a better or or more valuable service for someone? Well, someone who needs it more. So I I didn't think about it this way, but this is kind of reflecting back on my life and on what's happened. That's why I'm in a traveling situation, right? Because that's where the value was or is. And depending, and I'm not saying go out there and travel, you got everybody's got to travel. That's not what I'm saying. What I'm saying is that you have to understand the place and the position that you're in, right? To change, change your behavior to produce a certain result. For me, that was that. And for anyone else, just reflect back on it. Look at where you want to be and do the things that are required to be in that position. Uh one of the one of the people I listened to quite a bit, uh, especially earlier on, was uh Zig Ziggler. I don't know if you've ever heard of him, but he's a big motivational speaker. He's deceased since now. But one of the things he says, life's life's not like a buffet where you can come in, eat what you want, and then pay. You have to pay before you come in. And so I think that that's that's another thing is you have to invest, you have to develop those characteristics within yourself in order to be compensated for the things that you want people to pay you for, the the the earning that you want. I think that's a big part of who we are as society, right? Is is is to be able to provide a certain lifestyle, uh a quality of life for for you know ourselves or families, whether it's you know, out out out outrageously rich or you know, just just to cover the bills and go fishing every afternoon. I don't know, uh to each his own. But I think in the end, it comes down to what you plant.

SPEAKER_01: 31:35

Yeah, that's that's really that's really good. I mean, there's so many good things you just mentioned in that last question. Uh, a lot of takeaways. Art has definitely said some things that you are gonna want to take with you. And so we think about as we approach to the end of this episode, we uh are very thankful that Art joined us today. And um, as we're all aware, every instrument that we touch, every trade we prepare is a quiet act of service. You know, and the real impact goes far beyond the walls of the department. So, Art, we want to thank you one more time for sharing your journey, your heart with us today. You can really feel that heart beating through this episode. And thank you. If you're you're welcome. And if you're a sterile processing a tech or a student, take one action this week to elevate your work, whether it's mentoring a student, double checking a process, or reflecting on the lessons your instruments teach you about precision and care. If you are an aspiring technician, curious about sterile processing, make sure you reach out to local SP departments, connect with mentors like Art. He's on LinkedIn and he's willing to help. He's willing to impart, he's willing to share. And if you are part of a community and and you you're one who uh who loves you know family engagement and family time, think about how the lessons from today going behind the scenes about focus, patience, resilience can flow into your life and community. And so we're really grateful to have Art on the show and I'm really thankful for this episode. This was a this was a great episode, a little different, but listen, we're here to inspire, empower, and motivate you at the sterilization station. So, Art, do you have any uh parting words for the viewers today?

SPEAKER_00: 33:03

Well, I'm really, really again appreciative of you, Bill, for having me on. You kind of had to pursue me a little bit. My schedule is kind of all over the place with family work and things uh changing all the time. So I appreciate you having me on. But just for all the people that are listening out there, you're you're capable of a lot more than you think you are. So start aiming for the things that you want because they're there, they're available to you. You just you gotta focus on that and put into your life the things you want to see. And that's not easy, but it's it's it's definitely achievable.

SPEAKER_01: 33:33

Yeah, that's excellent. We see what we focus on. That's what I was always told by uh one of the ministers in our church, and it had a great impact on me, you know, that you uh if you're always looking for the negative in life in general, you're gonna see it. But if you're looking through a positive lens, you're gonna see things that are beyond what you thought. So it's all in how we look at it. But all right, don't be a stranger on the sterilization station. Always welcome to come back. You got any topics you want to deliver to the community, please let me know. We'll schedule another episode, and we're very thankful that you're here today. Um, thanks for having me. You're welcome.