Lead Sterile Processing Technician

At Duke Health, we're driven by a commitment to compassionate care that changes the lives of patients, their loved ones, and the greater community. No matter where your talents lie, join us and discover how we can advance health together.

About Duke Regional Hospital

Pursue your passion for caring with Duke Regional Hospital in Durham, North Carolina, which ranks as the number four hospital in the Raleigh-Durham, North Carolina area, according to U.S. News and World Report for . Duke Regional Hospital is the second largest of Duke Health's three hospitals and offers a comprehensive range of medical, surgical, and diagnostic services, including orthopedics, weight-loss surgery, women's services, and heart and vascular services.

General Description of this Role

• The Sterile Processing Technician, Lead assists the OR staff in the organization and daily function of the operating room in accordance with established federal, state, accreditation standards and facility policies and procedures. Responsible for instrument decontamination, sterile processing, instrument care, safe handling procedures and documentation related to those activities.

Duties and Responsibilities of this Role

The Sterile Processing Technician, Lead will be responsible for performing the responsibilities outlined in any/all of the categories below.

• Assists the operating room staff in preparing the O.R. suite for surgery by assisting in instrument preparation.
• Works cooperatively with OR and Central Sterile to jointly resolve issues or develop better services for surgical implementation.
• Supports staff by ensuring communication with Central Sterile and OR staff helps ensure all instruments are available for surgery.
• Must be able to resolve issues or offer alternatives when necessary.
• Facilitates action required to obtain additional instruments during surgery.
• Verifies that required instrumentation has been sterilized and is available for next-day, call or weekend cases.
• Addresses issues in communication/procedures by proactively reviewing OR schedule and suggesting modifications to ensure clear and precise communication and actions with all affected departments.
• Responds to problem calls from OR.
• Transports sterilized instrumentation to the O.R. area as needed.
• Documents and sends broken instrumentation out for repair.
• Completes documentation as required for instrument sets, etc (Case Cart, Post Case, and Tray Audits).
• Meets with and works with OR staff and surgeons as required.

• Assists in prioritizing processing of instruments and equipment for surgical procedures to facilitate turnover of cases.
• Anticipates instrument needs for following day and assures sterile processing completion.
• May assist the operating room staff in preparing the O.R. suite for surgery by assisting in instrument preparation.
• Acts as HLD Specialist. Performs/assists with daily quality testing on equipment in SPD.
• Assists supervisor in day-to-day activities to include answering phones and daily staff assignment sheet.
• Communicates closely with staff members concerning instrument requirements and availability.
• Verifies that required instrumentation has been sterilized and is available for next-day, call or weekend cases.
• Documents broken instrumentation. Completes documentation as required for instrument sets, etc (Case Cart, Post Case, and Tray Audits). May assist in sending broken equipment out for repair.
• Manages needs list for tray inventory.
• Makes sure bio's are processed and ready in a timely manner.

• Verify sterilization documentation for accuracy.
• Track and monitor IUSS loads and documentation.
• Track and monitor tray errors.
• Check in vendor trays for the next day cases.
• Aids with exporting Quality Events for reporting.
• Maintains SPM tracking system which includes by not limited to: updates instrumentation, create new products, update count sheets.
• Aids in completing in services for new products or processes.
• Aids in locating trays to place new inventory received.
• Liaison between the Clinic Leads and Sterile Processing to ensure instrument inventory is accurate.

• Orients and mentors new staff.
• Shares knowledge with…