Few things stressed me out more as a new Sterile Processing leader than walking out of the department on a Friday evening. Unlike your friendly neighborhood office building, most of us don’t have the luxury of closing the SPD door at 5pm on Friday. Instead, we take all the department leaders away — not only from the…
Read More
The one question we hear more than any other in the Sterile Processing world is this: “How do I grow? And quick!” Some of the answers to this may be easy, but they are all painfully counter-cultural. Are you ready? If you’re going to quickly grow your SPD career, here are the first two things…
Read More
60 Minutes, NBC Nightly News, ABC Nightline or even the front page of your local newspaper — I’m about to give you five easy ways to get your SPD team immediate media coverage. Not only can you become more well-known than Charlie and the evolution of dance guy overnight, every single one of these tips is super easy to do, and…
Read More
You want it. You need it. Your team is asking every day, “When are we going to get a __________ ?” It was a patient safety issue like, yesterday, and things are only getting dicier by the day. So why haven’t you already cut the PO? Why don’t you already have that shiny new piece…
Read More
(Guest post from Beyond Clean Speakers Bureau member James Carlock) The world of sterile processing is in a state of change right now that I have never seen in my 20+ years in the industry. A short list of big changes occurring in our industry includes: Of all the trends that affect the future of…
Read More
My friend and mentor, Dr. Jeff Thompson, introduced me to the concept of the poverty-healthcare vortex. I initially thought of it as a cycle. However, vortex is a more accurate description as it is a downward spiral for many people in this country. The single greatest threat to health In essence sixty percent of all…
Read More
A few months ago I saw a post floating around Sterile Processing circles asking whether or not technicians should be allowed to talk while on the processing floor. There were a number of comments from CS leaders and technicians on both sides of the debate, and I’m sure a couple of ruffled feathers along the…
Read More
“Johnny is the best.” “Suzy is great.” “Billy is a hard worker.” Whether you are an SPD leader or frontline technician, chances are good you will be needing or writing a letter of recommendation at some point in your career. And as important as these kinds of letters are, it is still difficult to dig…
Read More
“Busy!” “Crazy!” “Barely staying afloat!” Any of these sound like a normal day in your CS/SPD department? Yeah, I thought so. And do you want to know why I’m not surprised? Because few days go by when I don’t have that same sinking feeling, like I’ve got concrete blocks tied to both of my feet…
Read More
Let me just start this by saying there is no easy path or magic bullet for ensuring your department is ready for a Joint Commission, DNV, state health department or CMS survey. As ready as you think you are, there can always be hidden issues lurking behind the next page of documentation or varying levels of…
Read MoreFebruary 9, 2026
