Skip to main content

Advanced Career Education Center at Hermitage

Sterile Processing Technician

Sterile Proccessing Technician (New for 2026)

  • New in 2026–2027: Program specific course content will be weighted as Honors-level coursework. See Program Coursework below for more details.

    Prerequisites

    • Must be a Junior or Senior
    • Biology: Grade C or better
    • Algebra I: Grade C or better

  • This one-year program prepares students for careers in sterile processing through classroom instruction, laboratory practice, and extensive clinical experience. Students learn how sterile processing technicians support healthcare teams by ensuring instruments and equipment are properly cleaned, sterilized, and tracked to maintain patient safety.

  • This is a highly structured, hands-on course. Students are active every day and should expect long, organized workdays. Instruction includes multi-step procedures for cleaning, sterilization, and documentation of medical instruments. Students must be comfortable with responsibility, accountability, and completing a required 400-hour clinical experience that mirrors real workplace expectations.

  • Students complete a 400-hour clinical experience, with 200 hours required by high school graduation and an additional 200 hours within six months of earning provisional certification. These experiences introduce students to hospital and healthcare environments, infection-control standards, and the operational side of healthcare support.

  • Students are expected to participate in HOSA – Future Health Professionals, a national student organization focused on leadership development, teamwork, and healthcare career readiness.In addition to earning course credit, students are eligible to work toward industry-recognized credentials, including:

    These credentials allow students to graduate with documented skills, certifications, and career preparation—not just a grade.

  • This program operates like a healthcare workplace. Students are expected to purchase specific work attire for daily wear when attending classes:

    • Wear required work attire daily
    • Display a visible ID badge at all times

    Demonstrate professional behavior, punctuality, accountability, and respectful communication.

    A diagram displays the uniform requirements for sterile processing technicians, featuring two models in white scrub tops and khaki pants with labeled clothing components.

Program Description

1 year – 3 credits – Advanced Career Education (ACE) Center at Hermitage

This program is designed to be completed in one year during the 11th or 12th grade.

Sterile Processing Technician I - 1 Credit ( Honors ): A combination of this course and those below, equivalent to two 36-week courses, is a concentration sequence. Students wishing to complete a specialization may take additional courses based on their career pathways. A program completer is a student who has met the requirements for a CTE concentration sequence and all other requirements for high school graduation or an approved alternative education program.

Sterile Processing Technician II - 2 Credits ( Honors ): This course focuses on the materials and equipment management aspects of sterile processing technician careers. Students will learn about communicating in the healthcare workplace and acquire cardiopulmonary resuscitation/automated external defibrillator (CPR/AED) and sterile processing certifications.  

Students will complete a 400-hour clinical experience, which requires the completion of 200 hours by high school graduation and 200 hours within six months of earning a provisional certification. Note: Following completion of the additional 200 hours, full certification is obtained.

Instructor

To Be Announced