Sterile Processing Technician School in North Carolina - NC
Sterile processing technicians ensure that all instruments and equipment used in a surgical setting are properly sterilized and distributed. While North Carolina does not have a licensure nor a certification requirement for these health care professionals, the position does require formal training, consisting of a certificate program that lasts up to twelve months.
Most schools that offer sterile processing technician training programs in North Carolina require no prerequisite courses to be completed beyond attaining a high school diploma or general equivalency document. Classes that students will take in a sterile processing technician program include human anatomy and physiology, infection control and microbiology, sterilization, decontamination, surgical instrumentation processing and distribution.
Upon graduation, it is recommended that techs become Certified Sterile Processing Technicians by taking a national examination offered by the Certification Board for Sterile Processing and Distribution (CBSPD). This is not a state requirement, but will usually garner higher wages and more job opportunities for prospective sterile processing techs.
Clinical training for sterile processing technicians differs depending upon one’s school environment. It may take place in a laboratory setting or in a real-life hospital or medical facility. Here, students get the chance to put into practice the knowledge and skills that they have learned in the classroom training portion of their program. Even if your program does not offer clinical training in an internship or experiential program, it might be a good idea to seek it out on your own, in a volunteer or apprenticeship format. Some medical facilities throughout North Carolina that could provide clinical training experiences include:
- Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center in Winston-Salem
- Onslow Memorial Hospital in Jacksonville
- Forsyth Medical Center in Winston-Salem
- Presbyterian Hospital in Charlotte
- Rutherford Hospital in Rutherfordton
- Catawba Valley Medical Center in Hickory
- Pitt County Memorial Hospital in Greenville
- Davis Regional Medical Center in Statesville
Skills that will be taught and reinforced in a clinical setting include cleaning, sterilizing and assembling medical and surgical equipment, supplies and instruments according to prescribed techniques and procedures; and keeping charts and maintaining records associated with central processing techniques and procedures.
Sterile Processing Technician Salary in North Carolina
Per statistics supplied by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the median sterile processing technician salary in North Carolina is $27,000 per year or $12.96 per hour. The Employment Security Commission of North Carolina reports that there were 1580 medical equipment preparers working in the state in 2008, and there are expected to by 1890 such workers in North Carolina in 2018. This represents an increase of 20 percent, which is higher than the national anticipated increase of 13 percent for these types of jobs across the country through the year 2018.
Cities and towns in North Carolina vary in what they pay sterile processing technicians. Other factors that come into play when determining salary include educational level, certification status, type and size of medical facility in which one works and years of experience. According to the BLS and the Employment Security Commission of North Carolina, the average salaries for sterile processing technicians working in North Carolina cities are as follows:
- Burlington: $23,500
- Charlotte-Gastonia-Rock Hill: $27,400
- Durham-Chapel Hill: $28,500
- Greensboro-High Point: $27,600
- Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton: $25,500
- Northeastern North Carolina: $25,200
- Raleigh-Cary: $26,600
- Western Central North Carolina: $27,700
- Winston-Salem: $26,500