Medical sterilisation technician

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Source: LEARNETIC SA, licencja: CC BY 4.0.
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Due to the continuous development of many medical areas such as surgery or dentistry which make use of specialist tools and devices, there has been a high demand for qualified medical sterilisation experts.

A medical sterilisation technician is a person who is responsible for performing operations related to disinfection and sterilisation. This is an expert specialised in the maintenance of equipment used for diagnostics and treatment and of the tools used during medical procedures.

The duties of a medical sterilisation technician include such operations as manual cleaning and disinfection of tools, preparation of cleaning and disinfection solutions, automatic cleaning and disinfection of tools, operation of cleaning and disinfection machines, controlling the cleaning and disinfection process or the disassembly of tools before cleaning and disinfection, and their assembly before sterilisation.

A medical sterilisation technician also deals with quality and quantity inspections of equipment, with packaging and sterilisation of tools, surgical linen and dressing material, with operating sterilisers, controlling the sterilisation process and also keeping the documentation of the performed activities.

The duties of a medical sterilisation technician include the classification of medical equipment and products for cleaning, disinfection and sterilisation processes; cleaning, disinfection and sterilisation by means of appropriate methods and machinery; conducting inspections of the decontamination processes and keeping the cleaning, disinfection and sterilisation documentation.

A medical sterilisation technician is a new profession, adjusting to the changing needs. Therefore, the demand for qualified employees in this profession is on the rise. Moreover, it is necessary to continuously improve one’s qualifications, broaden one’s knowledge and set of skills. However, a certain group of features is required for this job, including manual dexterity, good health condition, team spirit, responsibility, conscientiousness, perceptiveness, a drive for continual personal development, and vast knowledge. Apart from that, the person working in this profession needs to be responsible, diligent and hardworking as the smallest of mistakes has a negative influence on patient health and the final result of the whole team.

A medical sterilisation technician may find employment at state‑owned and private healthcare facilities, central sterile services departments (CSSDs) of state‑owned and private healthcare facilities, endoscopy labs, dental practices, sterilisation rooms at operating blocks, microbiology laboratories or beauty parlours.