CRCST Professional Development and Medical Terminology

What this domain covers

A tray reaches the OR without an instrument the surgeon needs, and the circulating nurse calls you. What do you do first? Scenarios like this are a large part of Professional Development and Human Relation Skills, about 8% of the CRCST exam.

The domain also covers patient privacy, setting priorities and teamwork. It includes the medical terms and instrument names you use every day, and keeping your certification current.

Soft-skill questions still have one best answer. It usually puts the patient first, fixes the immediate problem and goes through the proper channel without blaming anyone.

Professional communication

Phone etiquette

Answer with the department name and your name, and offer help: "Sterile Processing, this is Jordan. How may I help you?" Speak clearly and calmly.

• If you need to look something up, ask whether the caller can hold or would prefer a call back. Do not put someone on hold without asking.
• Give accurate information. Do not guess a ready time to end the call faster.
• Follow up when you said you would.

Written messages and technology

Work emails and messages should be brief, factual and respectful. Name the item, the issue and what happens next. Avoid all capital letters (it reads as shouting), slang, emojis and blaming coworkers in writing.

Personal phones are usually limited to breaks in designated areas outside work areas. Phones distract during counts and inspection, and they can carry contamination into clean areas. Never use one to photograph anything with patient information.

Formal and informal channels

Formal communication runs through official channels: supervisors, meetings, policies and memos. Informal communication, the grapevine, moves fast but is often incomplete or wrong. If you hear a rumor about schedules or policy, check with your supervisor before acting on it or passing it on.

Customer service and service recovery

The department's internal customers are the OR, nursing units, clinics, labor and delivery and the emergency department. So is any other area that relies on its services. Patients are the ultimate customer.

Service recovery is how you respond when something goes wrong, such as a tray arriving without a needed instrument:

1. Listen without interrupting or arguing.
2. Apologize sincerely.
3. Fix the immediate problem fast; for a case in progress, get the instrument to the room.
4. Report the error and follow up, so the cause can be found and fixed.

Wrong answers on the exam often blame another shift or point to a signed count sheet. Others send the customer off to file a complaint. None of these help the patient on the table.

Diversity, equity and inclusion

Sterile processing teams include people of many backgrounds, languages, cultures and faiths. Exam questions in this area ask how you would work with or support a coworker.

• If a coworker struggles with written English, offer to walk through the steps and ask about visual or translated aids.
• Religious dress, such as a head covering, is reasonably accommodated while still meeting attire goals. For example, it can be covered with a clean bouffant or hood.
• Report harassment or disrespectful behavior through the proper channel.

HIPAA and patient privacy

HIPAA protects patient information, including the fact that someone is a patient. Sterile processing staff see patient names on case cart pick lists, OR schedules and labels on returned items.

• Use patient information only as needed for your job (the minimum necessary rule).
• Do not discuss patients with friends or family, or look up records out of curiosity.
• Discard papers with patient information in secure shredding or confidential bins, never regular trash or open recycling.
• Never post photos or details from work on social media.

Decision-making and prioritizing

Priorities follow patient need. An instrument for a surgery already in progress comes before tomorrow's restock, which comes before next week's trays and routine paperwork.

When there is more work than time, tell the supervisor early so priorities can be set and help assigned. Never skip inspection or other quality steps to catch up. For bigger problems, a structured approach works: define the problem, gather facts, consider options, choose and act, then check the result.

Medical terminology

Most surgical procedure names combine a word root for the body part with a suffix for what is done. If you know the parts, you can work out names you have never seen.

Suffix	Meaning	Example
-ectomy	Removal	Cholecystectomy (removal of the gallbladder)
-otomy	Incision, cutting into	Craniotomy (incision into the skull)
-ostomy	Surgical opening	Colostomy
-plasty	Surgical repair or reshaping	Rhinoplasty
-scopy	Visual exam	Arthroscopy
-rrhaphy	Suturing	Herniorrhaphy
-itis	Inflammation	Appendicitis

Common roots

• arthro (joint), chole (bile), cysto (bladder), crani (skull), hepat (liver), hyster (uterus)
• lapar (abdomen), nephr (kidney), oste (bone), oto (ear), rhino (nose), thorac (chest)
• angi (vessel), cardi (heart), gastr (stomach)

Watch for look-alike terms. A laparotomy is an incision into the abdomen; a laparoscopy is a visual exam with a scope. A craniotomy cuts into the skull; a craniectomy removes part of it.

Common instrument names

You will be expected to know common instruments by name and purpose.

• Hemostats: Kelly, Crile and mosquito clamp vessels; the mosquito is the smallest.
• Grasping clamps: Kocher has teeth at the tip for tough tissue such as fascia. Allis grasps tissue with fine teeth. Babcock has smooth, rounded jaws and is atraumatic, used for delicate tissue such as bowel.
• Scissors: Mayo scissors cut heavy tissue and sutures; Metzenbaum scissors cut delicate tissue.
• Retractors: self-retaining retractors hold themselves open (Weitlaner, Gelpi, Balfour). Hand-held retractors need someone to hold them (Army-Navy, Richardson, Deaver, Senn).
• Bone instruments: rongeurs, curettes and osteotomes.
• Suction tips: Yankauer, Frazier and Poole.

How to check that these instruments work before they go into a set is covered in the preparation and packaging guide.

Tip from Andrew Hector Smith: Learn instruments by handling them while you assemble sets. Say the name and purpose out loud as you check each one against the count sheet. Linking the name to the feel and shape of the instrument makes it easier to remember than a list.

Teams and accountability

Sterile processing depends on teamwork within the department and with other departments.

• Cross-functional team: members from different departments working on a shared problem. An example is the sterile processing department (SPD), OR, materials management and infection prevention tackling case cart errors.
• Task team (task force): formed to finish a specific job by a deadline, then disbands.
• Quality team: focuses on measuring and improving a process over time. The quality tools these teams use, such as PDCA and root cause analysis, are in the departmental considerations guide.

Every member has a role. Accountability means owning your assigned work, including problems with it. If you will miss a deadline, tell the team leader early, explain where things stand and offer a plan. Do not hide the problem, blame others or submit made-up data.

Career development and continuing education

The CRCST credential is renewed with HSPA every year. To renew, certified technicians complete the required continuing education credits. Continuing education keeps your knowledge current as standards, devices and manufacturers' instructions change. Sources include HSPA lessons, in-services, conferences and other approved programs.

After the CRCST, HSPA offers specialty and advanced credentials. They include the Certified Endoscope Reprocessor (CER), Certified Instrument Specialist (CIS) and Certified Healthcare Leader (CHL). Career paths include lead technician, educator, supervisor and manager roles.

Quick review

• Professional greeting: department, your name, offer help.
• Service recovery: listen, apologize, fix it fast, follow up.
• HIPAA: minimum necessary; secure disposal; no sharing.
• Patient need sets priorities; tell the supervisor early when overloaded.
• -ectomy removal, -otomy incision, -ostomy opening, -plasty repair, -scopy visual exam.
• CRCST renews every year with continuing education.

Related: CRCST renewal and CE credits and CRCST vs CBSPD.

Test yourself with the free professional development practice questions, each with the answer explained. To see which domain to study first, take the free CRCST diagnostic test.

Sources

The Professional Development and Human Relation Skills questions cite these documents, by document and, where we can confirm it, chapter or section. We never reproduce them.

1. HSPA Sterile Processing Technical Manual (23 questions)
2. HIPAA (2 questions)

Found a mistake? Use "Report a problem" under any question, and Andrew Hector Smith checks it.

Questions? support@crcstready.com