Medical Equipment Preparers

Also Called:

Central Service Technician (CST),

Central Sterile Supply Technician (CSS Technician),

Certified Registered Central Service Technician (CRCST),

Sterile Processing Technician (Sterile Processing Tech)

What they do: Prepare, sterilize, install, or clean laboratory or healthcare equipment. May perform routine laboratory tasks and operate or inspect equipment.

Healthcare & Human Services icon

Healthcare & Human Services

Career Cluster

What do they typically do on the job?

  • Operate and maintain steam autoclaves, keeping records of loads completed, items in loads, and maintenance procedures performed.
  • Clean instruments to prepare them for sterilization.
  • Record sterilizer test results.

Personality

People interested in this work like activities that include practical, hands-on problems and solutions.

Cautiousness

Attention to Detail

Dependability

Integrity

Interests

Career interests describe the perspectives and interests of people who enjoy the type of work involved in this career.

Discover what your interests are by taking the Interest Profiler Quiz

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Realistic

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Conventional

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Investigative

Abilities

Whether you have received formal training or not, these types of abilities are helpful in this career.

Verbal

  • Listen and understand what people say

  • Communicate by speaking

Hand and Finger Use

  • Hold or move items with your hands

  • Keep your arm or hand steady

Skills

People who want to pursue this career have skills in these areas.

Basic Skills

  • Thinking about the pros and cons of different ways to solve a problem

  • Keeping track of how well people and/or groups are doing in order to make improvements

Problem Solving

  • Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it

Does this sound like something you'd like to do?

1. Do some research

  • Identify how your interests, values, and strengths match this occupation
  • Talk to someone who works in this field or spend a day job shadowing
  • Use the colleges and training directory to explore programs related to this career

2. Plan your next move

  • Talk to your college and career counselor or school admissions staff
  • Visit Idaho Launch
  • Search for available Medical Equipment Preparers jobs on Idaho Works

Data for NSI career cards comes from the following: Idaho Department of Labor, US Bureau of Labor Statistics, O*NET, MyNextMove, and Career OneStop