The Increasing Relevance of Sterilization and Packaging

Along with expertise in instrument sterilization and packaging, Beate Graeter is experienced in many other healthcare areas, such as acute care, nursing, inpatient and outpatient care, clinical research, nursing education, and Cardiac Interventional/Electrophysiology procedures. This expertise allows her to carry out her responsibilities with primary focus on patient safety.

In an interview with CIOReview, Beate talks about how the sterilization and packaging space is evolving, the challenges that instrument technicians face every day, and the practices that can be implemented to improve their work-lives.

Can you tell our readers about yourself and your sterilization and packaging space journey?

I have been a Cath Lab/EP Lab and Cardiac Critical Care nurse for almost 20 years here in the United States. I grew up in Germany and worked in different healthcare settings there. I started my healthcare career in a doctor’s office and worked as a Medical Technologist in a hospital laboratory before moving to the US.I became a Registered Nurse in the early 1990s. After obtaining my BSN, my career took a turn from the clinical setting to administration. In 2018, I had an opportunity to transfer into a new position in our Sterile Processing Department (SPD).

The program needed a clinical leader, someone with a clinical background to collaborate with the clinicians in the surgery department to achieve process and performance improvement goals. My experience as a nurse and administrator in the organization were beneficial.

I had a lot to learn about sterilization and SPD, but my strengths in operations and my process-oriented approach were very helpful during the transition.The Increasing Relevance Of Sterilization And Packaging me, things are either right or wrong, either safe or not safe for our patients. I will stand my ground with clinical leaders and physicians to ensure the patient’s safety. I do not believe in short[1]cuts and work-arounds – these practices compromise our culture of safety and put our patients at risk.

How has the packaging and sterilization landscape changed over the years? What are some of the technological innovations that have propelled this industry forward?

One of the biggest challenges is the technological advances in the surgical instrumentation industry. The best example is the increase of robotic procedures. These instruments are delicate, and the reprocessing is complex and highly technical. Other advances are in the surgery itself. Joint replacements are becoming more common, the patient volume continues to increase, and the technology in the orthopaedic landscape continues to change.

Most surgical advances mean advances in the instrumentation industry. Instruments are becoming more complex and harder to clean. That brings with it another challenge - finding qualified staff to process these instruments and perform these complex cleaning and sterilization processes. The technicians must know every instrument and be flexible and willing to learn new and revised complex re-processing procedures – almost daily.

In the current job market, we are competing with many other industries – trying to recruit and retain the right people for the job. That is very difficult.

I believe that in addition to technological advances and innovations in surgery, the recruitment and retention of qualified staff will be our biggest challenge over the next few years.

What would you say are the best practices that companies can adopt to steer ahead of their competitors in the SPD market?

When it comes to recruitment and retention of team members, the best practice is to develop an interesting and attractive job for the employees.Thinking outside the box and knowing what is attractive to the employee is important. Some examples that I adopted are from my nursing days. Self-scheduling, team-interviews, or developing a career ladder – a pathway for professional growth – these are a few examples or best practices that aid the retention of a highly qualified workforce.

The work of the Instrument Technician is physically and mentally very demanding. I believe that 10 or 12- hour shifts do not support the physical and mental health of our team members in SPD. After an 8-hour shift in such a stressful environment, focus and attention to detail decreases.

Another area worth looking at is pay practices for Instrument Technicians. Some Instrument Technicians earn barely a salary that is above the minimum wage. We trust the Instrument Technicians with the safety of your patients – an appropriate pay structure for this kind of work can’t be ignored.

Certification and professional development are also important. We need to focus on encouraging our team members to become experts in their field. With expertise come improved performance and safety. Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) of a certified and expert SPD staff show lower bioburden, lower number of errors and increased efficiencies. Frontline experts “own” their work and make the best decisions to get the job done.

Finally, making sure our technicians have the right tools to do the job – and these tools must be in working condition. This is so important. Height-adjustable workstations and decontamination sinks, a chair to sit down on, borescopes to inspect the inside of an instrument, all these basic tools help eliminated the need for workarounds and daily frustrations on the job.

When we compete for a highly specialized workforce, we need to make sure we respect and recognize our team for the job well done. We have invited our internal customers, VPs, Infection Control and Patient Safety leaders to come meet the team and give our SPD staff the opportunity to show their work. It creates a culture of mutual respect for the “…other side …” and acknowledges the difficult and complex work behind the surgical services that we provide to our patients.

What advice would you give to your peers, industry veterans, or budding entrepreneurs who wish to venture into the packaging and sterilization space?

Walk the Walk before you Talk the Talk. When you start practicing in this industry, go out there on the SPD floor, put on a set of scrubs and PPE, work in the Decontamination area, work in Prep and Pack and put some sets together, and get the real feel for the work. It is very enlightening. If you think about leadership in this profession, spending time on the frontline will help you understand where the industry was, where it is, and it will help you understand what needs to be done to move into the future.