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CUSTOMIZED EDUCATION AND TRAINING
Certification is a good beginning. But, it is only a beginning. All
healthcare professionals require continuing education for the
entire time of employment. In today’s highly technologically
advancing medical community, the priority to educate the instrument
assembly technicians in new instruments and systems added to
the current OR repertoire is critical. If the CPD technician
receives less education or exposure to new systems than what
is given to OR staff, the CPD staff is destined to fail in meeting
the needs of the OR.
The CPD staff must be allowed the time
to learn how the instruments are used and why the proper care
and handling of the fine surgical grade instrumentation is so
critical to a positive outcome for the patient. Without proper
training the CPD staff cannot be held accountable for the work
performance for which they were hired.
Each new hire and current CPD employee
must be trained to the desired level of technical competence.
There is a significant escalating investment in the CPD staff,
so the training, development, and retention of competent CPD
personnel is essential for successful surgical service operations.
In the "old days", when most
instruments were made of stainless steel, it did not require
much training for a person to be able to properly process the
instruments required for a surgical procedure. Today, however,
surgical instruments are very complex, intricate, fragile and
require that the surgeon using them be well educated in all their
myriad of functions. The same holds true for the person expected
to care for these highly technical instruments. One error made
by one person with one fiberoptic scope can easily cost the hospital
$10-20,000 or more if you include the cost of the surgeon and
hospital staff time lost when a case cannot be performed due
to one instrument not functioning properly or not being available
because it is out for repair. Inconvenience and patient suffering
can effect the hospitals standing in the community and represent
another potential cost.
A CPD Technician must be trained well and
for a minimum of at least two to three years to be considered
competent, and for a minimum of five years to be well trained
and knowledgeable in the full scope of the duties of an instrument
processing technician. Fully trained, the investment in one CPD
Technician is greater than $104,000. Not training the new hire
to a high level of technical competency is much more costly.
OSHA regulations are very strict for everyone
entering a decontamination area. Education and training are critical.
Proper training must be documented and competencies reviewed
and recorded annually. Continuing education and training are
the best risk management tools to assure compliance with the
Bloodborne Pathogens Standard and to prevent exposure to other
potentially infectious materials and possible injury to the CPD
staff member.
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