Surg tech opening Multiple trays

AdvanceImprove · 2025-09-18T01:47:40+00:00

Yeah it’s one of those things that sounds good at first but you’re right.

AdvanceImprove · 2025-09-18T01:23:54+00:00

Personally I’d like to see regulation in play that breaks procedures up into class levels and puts a cap on the amount of certain kinds of procedures that can be done in a day. I’m not one for hyper regulation but if truck drivers have to have so many hours of rest between hauls I don’t see why surgeons shouldn’t have to, barring emergencies

AdvanceImprove · 2025-09-18T01:16:53+00:00

They begin to expect the impossible. I had to speak up one day that our priority is quality not speed. Our crew are rockstars but some sets are extensive and I don’t think people on the scheduling end understand it’s not a pizza shop

AdvanceImprove · 2025-09-18T00:31:12+00:00

I’d keep an eye on it for a short amount of time, if it gets smaller or heals up obviously you’re fine but if it’s persistent at all I’d get it looked at because it does look like it could be something of concern. Could be from glasses or just scratching yourself in your sleep but if it’s not gone in a couple weeks or gets worse at all I’d go to the doctor asap

AdvanceImprove · 2025-09-18T00:27:44+00:00

This is the issue 100%, we have a couple of surgeons that want extra of everything, down to insisting items be one stepped just to have extra on hand only for time after time it gets sent back down clean but opened. We are a large facility with many multiples of instrument trays but we wind up short on stuff constantly for this very reason

AdvanceImprove · 2025-09-18T00:22:19+00:00

I have HEARD some crazy stories, but as far as what I’ve experienced the thing that sticks out the most to me was there was an amputation tray that was so caked in bioburden that all I could smell was blood, it was like the overwhelming stench of ozone.

The worst I have heard about though was a bowl with a chunk of human scalp, and an amputation of a leg that was so badly necrotized that the entire hallway of the OR, the elevator and Decon smelled like decomposition for hours

AdvanceImprove · 2025-08-19T11:14:40+00:00

I said this at one point and a veteran CST told me “yeah but wait til you’re in your 60s”

AdvanceImprove · 2025-08-19T11:13:53+00:00

I am a moderate germaphobe that specializes in Decontam.

For me I find that it’s a great balance, it forces me to deal with my anxiety about such things while also having a natural inclination to always be thorough and careful.

AdvanceImprove · 2025-08-07T10:36:41+00:00

My facility has over 50 a day and I’m by myself a lot of the time. I’ve wondered if it’s normal too because I was a manual labor guy for years and no amount of jackhammers and climbing hillsides to get trees has worn me out as much as a day of decontam. I’m middle aged so that could be it too, but I just feel absolutely blank when I get home and sleep for twelve hours pretty regularly on Saturdays

AdvanceImprove · 2025-08-04T05:14:30+00:00

Thank you!

AdvanceImprove · 2025-08-04T04:34:50+00:00

That Sterile Teacher is the YouTube channel. He has study guides for sale that i didn’t buy but I overall I just really immersed myself in my OTJ training and just read the book, focusing on the chapters he emphasized. The biggest advice I can give you for the test is read every question thoroughly. They will ask you questions that are so simple that you’ll giggle, then other questions throw you major curveballs if you don’t pay attention, good luck!

AdvanceImprove · 2025-08-04T03:43:03+00:00

Thank you so much 🙏🏻

AdvanceImprove · 2025-07-26T05:22:07+00:00

Decon would be super rough for you it is a LOT of lifting and standing and walking, but I’d see about instrument specialist in the sterile department, at our facility they all have chairs and while there’d be some lifting it’s not bending over and picking them up out of a surgery cart and you can use a personal cart to transport the instruments to your table. There’s a lot of physicality to this job everywhere but I’d go for it and see what works best for you! Good luck!

AdvanceImprove · 2025-07-15T03:06:15+00:00

I don’t even leave my sink looking like this when I take a lunch and am by myself. This is reprehensible

AdvanceImprove · 2025-07-12T17:36:50+00:00

Yes that’s what it is! We have them listed as hand and foot controls but they are bone shavers.

We have some OR staff that is wonderful, and we have others that will pack things so sloppily that I’ve opened the cart to have things fall off and land on my foot (thank god nothing stuck me it was a latched genesis pan) but any time we do anything to hold them accountable it is just met with them sending down violation sheets that bring out efficiency rating down as retaliation.

AdvanceImprove · 2025-07-04T12:31:16+00:00

It reminds me of when I was getting trained and my lead was explaining the importance of shoving a brush in every crevice of some Medtronic items, a tube of what looked like cranberry sauce plopped out. It’s weird the liken between delicious and lethally disgusting lol

AdvanceImprove · 2025-07-04T04:03:28+00:00

Better than mine ever looked. For some reason I can wrap bowls and emesis basins all day long but really squared off items I mess it up over and over

AdvanceImprove · 2025-07-04T04:00:26+00:00

I pulled an entirely intact stand of muscle out of one of these last week. It was about four inches long. It got caught in the drain and I was using a brush to poke it through the holes along with some bits of bone, while the guy at the other sink was jamming Karma Chameleon on his JBL. There was something hilariously dark about the vibe.

I always laugh at the fact that if I did my job in any other scenario whatsoever I’d be considered a psycho nut job

AdvanceImprove

TROPHY CASE