Ask the Educator Podcast

Do you know what is inside your flexible scopes? Microbial surveillance can tell you exactly what is living inside your scopes, but how can we implement that kind of program? Dr. Mary Ann Drosnock joins the podcast to share how we can create these types of programs at our facilities and help further protect our patients!

After a LinkedIn post made by our host, Kevin Anderson, about the importance of testing bipolar forceps for insulation integrity, our guest, Rebecca Peplau, commented about a scenario featuring a specific brand of bipolar forceps and how the SPD technicians were potentially damaging the forceps, just by doing the routine testing! Nothing was written about the issue in the IFU, however. Listen in to learn more about what happened, and how this issue was resolved!

Have you ever had fire start in your SPD or OR? Or have you heard of a patient being burned by electrosurgical equipment? If FDA reports are any indication, most of us have experienced at least one of these events at some point in our careers. So how does this happen in such a controlled and secure environment? In this episode of the Ask the Educator Podcast, Kevin and Adam speak to Jahan Azizi about all things electrosurgical to understand why testing the integrity and continuity of our cords and cables is so vitally important to keep patients safe.

In many processing departments too, much emphasis is placed purely on repetition as the means educating the staff. Unfortunately, this leaves many processing professional ill equipped to make good decisions when problems arise. In these moments, when critical thinking is required, staff members whose education lacks a true understanding of why they are doing the task the way they are will be ill prepared to react appropriately. This also effects staff's ability to participate in risk assessment activities as well. Incorporating "why" into any department's education program will add quality by creating technicians that not only understand how to do their job but why they do it that way.

Have you ever had a decontamination gown soak through to your scrubs? Have you been splashed from the back side at the sink? Listen in to this episode and learn more about PB70. Co-chairs Cheron Rojo & Jill Holdsworth will explain what PB70 is and how the Protective Barriers Committee is looking to keep SPD technicians safe!

You may be familiar with ST79 (steam sterilization) and ST91 (flexible endoscopes), but have you heard about ST98: Cleaning validation for healthcare products? AAMI veteran, Ralph Basile, guides us through what the new guidelines state about how manufacturers should be testing their devices to ensure clean products for patients, and how these changes could make for better manufacturer IFU's for end users down the road.

Whether you're a veteran of flexible endoscope processing, or brand new to the field, this podcast series on ST91 is designed for you! In this episode with guest John Whelan, we discuss ST91 and the informative annexes at the back of the document. What do you do when the IFU’s for the scope don’t match the AER manufacturer IFU? Want to know more about simethicone and flexible scopes? How about more information on drying flexible endoscopes? John takes us through all of these questions and more!

Whether you're a veteran of flexible endoscope processing, or brand new to the field, this podcast series on ST91 is designed for you! In this episode, Dr. Mary Ann Drosnock takes us through the steps of flexible endoscope quality assurance. What steps are required? How often? And does staff need to be certified to reprocess flexible scopes? Answers to these questions and more inside with the former co-chair of ST91!

Whether you're a veteran of flexible endoscope processing, or brand new to the field, this podcast series on ST91 is designed for you! What do the new standards state about how you should be transporting your scopes? Are there new evidence-based recommendations about the type of storage system that is preferred? Join us as we speak to John Whelan about these questions and more!

Whether you're a veteran of flexible endoscope processing, or brand new to the field, this podcast series on ST91 is designed for you! Why is pre-cleaning is no longer the terminology used when talking about what is done at the point-of-use? And what is a "Leak Tester Tester" (not a typo)? Find out the answers to these questions and more in this episode with our guest, John Whelan!