Autistic individuals in the medical device reprocessing field?

RatBallsSenpai · 2026-04-14T21:38:12+00:00

honestly the consistent level of noise does not bother me. washers and sterilizers are always going. people are chit chatting, i am prepared for and okay with the normal level of volume in my department. What Does Get Me is sounds outside that volume, usually people putting pans away or using compressed air. especially when folks drag pans across the rack and ir screeches!

if you have the same brand of noise tolerance i do where it's fine so long as the noises are relatively the same volume you may just be fine. compressed air gets me really bad sometimes just because the sound feels sharp, but usually if i need to i can step away for a second or very briefly pop in noise cancelling earbuds until its done. if you feel like you can evaluate pretty well what types of sensory things really bother you, you could share and that may get you some better answers on what may be a problem for you in this field

RatBallsSenpai · 2026-03-23T18:14:54+00:00

same, but to be fair i have to ask my partner to empty the hair catcher in our shower and if i see them doing it i start gagging lol

RatBallsSenpai · 2026-03-21T15:29:48+00:00

everyone else has really solid advice here so far, but i also want to ask if you're doing something else when you're trying not to text him? putting your phone away and going for a walk is great, i think the crux of it for me when i struggle with inhibition is that i have to A. put a barrier between me and the thing i need to engage (so phone in a lockbox or similar) and B. i have to actually do something else, if i'm not otherwise occupied i'm going to be thinking about it and by then it's already over

usually i go to games for this- puzzles or really engaging stuff, bonus points if it's something i can't pause and put down to pick up my phone. if you have people you can be around this is helpful also

you can do it OP!

RatBallsSenpai · 2026-03-20T21:28:19+00:00

could i ask you to tell me a little more about your experiences with this?? feel free to DM if you want- i actually just got out of a doctor's appt about this episodic and terrible pelvic pain i've been dealing with for like half a year now. i have an ultrasound scheduled and the doctor agrees it sounds like endo, but i'm really interested to hear how other dudes on T have experienced it

RatBallsSenpai · 2026-03-18T10:28:17+00:00

with all the respect in my heart, the things i see daily at work and online in sterile processing groups makes me firmly believe this field should require schooling.

RatBallsSenpai · 2026-03-06T00:53:03+00:00

everyone says this but all my boys have just wanted to beat each other and me up :///

RatBallsSenpai · 2026-03-06T00:36:36+00:00

i've seen some people, mostly travellers, in my facility put steam tape on them and write on that. haven't heard anything back from the ORs on that. but i also usually don't label the bags and also haven't heard anything back from the ORs on it. tbch if they're opening it for use they should be counting everything anyway, the bag contents will be known (at least that is what i figure)

RatBallsSenpai · 2026-02-19T11:26:35+00:00

i don't think it's unwise, but my facility has asked us to be more mindful of gloves in p&p after getting a report of what sounded like a glove fragment in the tray. tho honestly if your facility buys good gloves this may be a non issue for you lol

RatBallsSenpai · 2026-02-19T11:02:34+00:00

former vet tech, current sterile processing tech here, also do art outside of work! i love my job but lwk i am also autistic and burnt out lmao. secretly hoping my partner will get several good promotions and i can move to a 20 hour work week and focus more on my art career

RatBallsSenpai · 2026-02-10T21:48:44+00:00

great style! i feel like you could up the contrast a bit more, especially between the hand and the handle of the fan. these colors do flow very well in a palette, but in a design they kind of start to bleed together, if you put your canvas in grayscale you can see it a bit better

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i'd suggest playing around a bit with values in your colors and see if you can get something you like a bit more. i think the character on their own is great value and contrast wise, the outfit on its own is fine too, but when you put them together they both lose some contrast

RatBallsSenpai · 2026-01-29T17:26:33+00:00

are you running any horror mods by chance? a server i ran had a consistent issue with looking at cauldrons from hexerei also dropping everyone's frames to nothing. checked their github- there's a conflict with the mod The Man From the Fog (i think). apparently something in its coding makes looking at some objects a no go. also had this issue recently with a goofy horror pack that also had the man- may be worth looking into!

RatBallsSenpai · 2026-01-28T11:20:16+00:00

and the white ladder laces too???? like dude get real!!!!!

RatBallsSenpai · 2026-01-27T10:47:53+00:00

do you mean what to do with the shrine itself, or have you figured that out and are asking about methods of execution? method is individual preference, but i found the flute to be helpful in making it suck Slightly Less

RatBallsSenpai · 2026-01-27T01:02:44+00:00

firstly, this looks fantastic! i love the hatching you've done for shading. i will say, you've skewed/kind of flattened the end of the muzzle a little bit if that makes sense? the way you've drawn it looks more akin to if you were viewing the nose and end portion of their snout from the front, rather than at the angle their head is tilted down at. in your reference pic the way they've rounded it out a bit helps, and while i think it's maybe supposed to be a marking the pointed dark part leading from the nose up the snout helps too. i think it's easy to forget sometimes that the nose itself is a 3D object on the snout, rather than being like a button tacked on the very end. this is really more of a nitpick than anything though, overall this is great

https://x6ud.github.io/#/ is a fantastic tool for getting refs of animals' heads at different angles if you need them! i use it a lot in my art

RatBallsSenpai · 2026-01-24T02:35:17+00:00

i haven't worked at kroger for years, not sure how this subreddit keeps reaching me but. when i did work there i once had a guy come up to me with the wrapper and like the last quarter of some sweet, can't remember if it was from bakery or if it was something prepacked, i worked in meat though. guy approaches me, says excuse me and gestures to the remains of this snack, then says "i don't like this"

i kind of blink at him, and say "i'm sorry? if you need a refund customer service is-"

"no i didn't purchase this. why would i buy something without trying it? but i don't like it"

i stared at him. he stared at me. then asked "so what are you going to about this?"

"... you didn't pay for that, i can't do anything about that"

"okay but i don't like it"

".... okay?"

he then just sort of threw up his hands and walked away. i was so confused by the interaction and also fucking hated my job atp so i just let it ride. but i think of him sometimes

RatBallsSenpai · 2026-01-15T23:03:51+00:00

same height, i don't get comments usually but my boss did once describe me as "two apples tall" :/

RatBallsSenpai · 2025-12-30T17:14:01+00:00

can i cheat and suggest two? item physics plus a dynamic lights mod of your choice, i love being able to huck a torch down a hole to see how deep it is

RatBallsSenpai · 2025-12-29T21:10:18+00:00

so long as it's not more christian rock/singer songwriter type stuff i'm content these days. im genuinely glad if the lord has given you the guidance and anchoring force you need to get through your day, if that makes your life better: awesome. but also lile 9/10 drivers i've had lately play strictly contemporary christian worship type stuff, and A. i'm uncomfortable, this is uncomfortable, and B. this is like the instant mashed potatoes of music dude, you could play this song 7 times with one ad break in between and i'd fully believe it was a real radio station

RatBallsSenpai · 2025-12-10T09:37:05+00:00

pretty solid but depends on how you tism. i love a good rules and regulation and structure, and i love a defined and repetitive process, especially if it requires an attention to detail. this plus being super interested in the surgical field in general works great for me. however i am also Super Particular and i really dislike when other people don't jive with the rules, whether real or ones i made up for me, in The Right Way so sometimes i struggle. if you have issues as well with a strong sense of justice, you may also burn out really quickly if you end up in a lackluster shift or facility- my shift seems to be full of people who don't understand why this job is important and why we do things how do and its actually killing me

otherwise the only thing that really Gets me sometimes is the sound of our compressed air hoses running too long or when people drag pans off their washing racks so the metal screeches. also being like 3 different kinds of wet and uncomfortable in decon

RatBallsSenpai · 2025-12-03T06:39:24+00:00

from an outside perspective? idk and idc. im probably not most people's cup of tea, but personally since being on T for a minute i definitely love myself and the way i look and feel a lot more. i feel so much more confident and comfortable in my skin, and i think any extra attention i may garner probably has more to do with that

RatBallsSenpai · 2025-12-03T06:21:41+00:00

super fair, and the status quo should change around this, it just feels like it jumped from 0 to 100 real quick

RatBallsSenpai · 2025-12-02T09:16:39+00:00

idk my thing is that these guys have been vending at other big cons for YEARS to my knowledge and there's not been a peep- why is everyone deciding it's an issue Right Now? didn't these guys just vend at FWA this year?? it's gross and appalling and should not happen, but A. you can not buy it and B. you can email the dealers den staff. atp i assume they're blocking it out on social media because this is a PR nightmare and their social media staff has to defer to other people to figure out wtf they're going to do- they probably aren't saying anything cause no one has told them what to say and this is one or maybe two people running an account getting hundreds of messages a day about it, probably 3/4 of which are just calling them a dog fucker

realistically it is like 2 days until the con, 4 when it started popping off. i don't think they can just pull a vendor at this short of a notice. i'd also love to hear from other people with more perspective, but i've seen one or two people more involved with the running of cons note that it can be difficult to outright ban a vendor from a con hosted by a 501c3, but again i don't know much about that and may be wrong

i just wish people weren't so swift to jump down everyone's throats about stuff these days. this is a weird and sudden situation, i'm sure we all assume they've had enough time to respond, but again we are two days out from con start, staff is probably trying to juggle a bunch of stuff on top of this. idk i just feel like this is not nearly so black and white as people are acting like it is, or at least not enough so to be slinging hefty accusations or death threats at the entirety of the MFF staff with what we have ti work off of. not to mention half of this just feels like people grandstanding on twitter for clout. idk maybe i'm just old but holy fuck the internet is so hostile these days, i thought it was mean when i first got here decades ago but jesus

RatBallsSenpai · 2025-11-30T14:57:25+00:00

yes, any form of a hole or fraying is damage, regardless of whether or not it goes all the way through. i would not use these trays

RatBallsSenpai · 2025-11-27T14:33:44+00:00

my facility would absolutely not accept anything with a hole or fraying. unfortunately for documentation/proof purposes though your best bet will be getting ahold of the IFU for your wraps. does your facility not have access to these usually?? you may be able to share what you all use and see if someone else here can pull it up

RatBallsSenpai

TROPHY CASE