SPD Pain Points You’ll Find Across the U.S. and How to Cure Them with Nicole Walley

Sterile Processing Manager Nicole Walley spent the first several years of her sterile processing career as a traveling sterile technician. Across state lines, she saw firsthand what works – and what doesn’t. Here’s what she learned and how she’s using it to reform her department for the better.

Ocala, Florida – Nicole Walley, Sterile Processing Manager in Ocala, Florida, is one of those rare leaders with both razor-sharp wisdom and the drive to actualize it.

Her eye for best practices didn’t appear out of thin air. Walley earned these traits the long and hard way – through years of experience working in hospitals across the nation.

Before she became a manager, Walley was in patient facing roles for ten years, and then a traveling sterile processing technician for four. The experiences she had in these positions inform her current managerial practice more than anything else.

“Taking contracts all over the U.S., I developed a lot of solid experience through traveling. I was exposed to many different situations, which strengthened my critical thinking and problem-solving skills,” said Walley. “I developed a clear vision of the type of leader I wanted to be.”

As she hopped from Hawaii to Illinois to Pennsylvania and more as a sterile technician, Walley experienced firsthand the impact that poor – and strong – practices can have on technicians, patients, and operating room (OR) staff. Now, she has dedicated her career to healing these pain points.

“I’m very passionate about what I do because I’ve seen firsthand the challenges sterile technicians face through my travels,” said Walley. “I have a passion for people, and I’ve always been someone who’s not afraid to speak up.”

Without further ado, here are three of the biggest challenges that Walley encountered in her experience as a traveling sterile technician, and the solutions she’s pursuing to reform them.

Challenge: Education, training, and infrastructure are pain points no matter where you are in the country.

According to Walley, these are the most common challenges that she encountered – across the board. “A lot of sterile processing departments are bursting at the seams,” said Walley. “These aren’t isolated problems, and they are all connected.”

Solution: Pay sterile technicians fairly.

From day one as a manager, Walley started conversations about fair compensation for her team. According to Walley, this is especially crucial for employee satisfaction and retention considering that the state of Florida, where she is located, is on track to increase the minimum wage each year until September 30, 2026.

“That means minimum wage will be even closer to what our technicians are making. Our work is not entry-level work,” said Walley. “We need to pay employees for certification on top of fair base pay. Being compensated appropriately for the roles and responsibilities is extremely important. It helps to boost morale for one, and it makes people feel appreciated.”

Bonus solution: Consider centralized off-site sterile processing.

Walley also believes the trend towards off-site sterile processing will help ease some of the pressure that SPDs face.

“With the offsite reprocessing model, there’s more potential for sterile processing to take complete ownership over what we do without the interruptions that occur when you’re in the same building as the operating rooms,” said Walley. “Being able to do your job uninterrupted mitigates error. Also, it will help to foster an impression of SPD as a more respected industry.”

Challenge: There is miscommunication or a lack of understanding between the SPD and the OR.

Solution: Talk to each other.

The very first hospital that Walley ever worked for as a sterile processing technician implemented a practice that Walley never forgot. The process was simple: Walley and her team spent a day observing surgery and speaking with surgical technicians.

“It was extremely helpful and eye-opening for both parties. It really did help to bridge those gaps and help us foster working relationships that were healthy and collaborative,” said Walley.

Now, she does the same thing with her team. Plus, she invites the surgical team to tour the sterilization department.

“When both parties understand the why behind the other side, it really helps them realize the importance of doing things a certain way. Something as routine as the way we peel pack items or the way that we wrap a tray matters immensely to OR technicians,” said Walley. “On the other hand, bringing a surgical technician to the other side to explain what we deal with when someone doesn’t make a collaborative effort to bring safer use instruments back to us is so important.”

Challenge: The status quo isn’t cutting it.

During Walley’s travels, she noticed that even some of the most normalized sterilization processes had imperfections that could be addressed.

“For example,” said Walley. “No matter where I went in the country, there were always challenges when inspecting cannulated devices on the clean side.”

Solution: Embrace innovation.

This challenge in particular bothered Walley so much, that she invented a solution herself. According to Walley, every current modality of inspection is done in the open air, leaving the opportunity for cross-contamination. Her proposed solution – called the Barrier Buddy System – is a device that protects the distal tip of an instrument during inspection, which minimizes the opportunity for exposure to potentially infectious material. While it’s not yet on the market, it is being tested at two facilities.

“Whatever modality of inspection you’re using, if there was anything left in that cannulated instrument, the Barrier Buddy would contain it so that the workstation is protected,” said Walley.

After the inspection phase, the instrument can be peel-packed or placed in an instrument protector card such as the one by SterileBits® for transportation to the OR.

Of course, a new invention won’t solve every problem. But Walley believes there are changes that we can all make to improve working conditions and patient safety across the sterile processing industry. The key is to trust yourself, trust your team, and just begin.

“I consider myself to be a transformational leader. I’m very driven by innovation and change, whether it’s new technology, a new way of communicating, or otherwise,” said Walley. “Healthcare is progressive, so we have to keep up with it. The way that we do that is through innovation.”

SterileBits: Innovation First

To read more stories similar to this one, visit the blog on www.SterileBits.com and follow SterileBits on LinkedIn.

Click here to explore robotic arm instrument protectors by SterileBits.