What does a central supply technician do?
Central Supply Technicians are responsible for the administration and dispensing of surgical and medical supplies. Their duties include ordering supplies, filling supplies in supply cabinets, bulk rooms, carts, and central inventory, conducting par areas inspections, performing pallet break-downs, and undertaking supplies inspection for package integrity. They also carry out cycle counts, organize carts and cabinets, report for needed repairs, and manage the issuance of procedural carts and trays.
Central supply technician responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real central supply technician resumes:
- Cataloge property, maintain property records and manage inventory using PBUSE system.
- Assist home RN and hospice staff with ADL's.
- Practice & enforce HIPPA patient privacy guidelines.
- Order supplies, maintain records and compile information using Microsoft office such as word, excel, and PowerPoint.
- Reconcile charges for outsource services to ensure patients are billed accurately.
- Develop PowerPoint presentations that assist in supply management and logistics oversight.
- Stock receive product, filing confidential patient documents under HIPPA regulations and perform daily inventory.
- Provide administration of prescribe medications and treatments to patients in accordance with physician orders and nursing standards.
- Coordinate with depot item managers, program engineers and system program managers to resolve procurement bottleneck problems and expedite requisitions.
- Return and search for raw and finish materials using the AS400 database.
- Analyze status screens in QAD and AS400 to make necessary inventory adjustments.
- Complete quarterly MSDS review including medications and externally purchase chemicals.
Central supply technician skills and personality traits
We calculated that 18% of Central Supply Technicians are proficient in Patients, Sterile Processing, and Customer Service. They’re also known for soft skills such as Dexterity, Mechanical skills, and Organizational skills.
We break down the percentage of Central Supply Technicians that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Patients, 18%
Provide administration of prescribed medications and treatments to patients in accordance with physician orders and nursing standards.
- Sterile Processing, 13%
Graduated Internally to Central Supply Technician in Materials Management Sterile Processing Department.
- Customer Service, 11%
Process departmental orders Customer service.
- Infection Control, 8%
Follow established infection control policies and procedures when delivering supplies and equipment.
- Surgery, 5%
Prepared, assembled and packaged instruments and equipment for surgery and other hospital departments.
- Surgical Instruments, 5%
Decontaminated surgical instruments, maintained inventory, prepared surgical trays and stocked dry goods
"patients," "sterile processing," and "customer service" are among the most common skills that central supply technicians use at work. You can find even more central supply technician responsibilities below, including:
Communication skills. While "communication skills" is last on this skills list, don't underestimate its importance to central supply technician responsibilities. Much of what a central supply technician does relies on this skill, seeing as "production, planning, and expediting clerks are frequently in contact with suppliers, vendors, and production managers and need to communicate the firm’s scheduling needs effectively." Here is a resume example of how this skill is used in the everyday duties of central supply technicians: "provide strong customer service and communication skills"
The three companies that hire the most central supply technicians are:
- Mount Sinai Health System7 central supply technicians jobs
- RWJBarnabas Health6 central supply technicians jobs
- Emerson Hospital5 central supply technicians jobs
Choose from 10+ customizable central supply technician resume templates
Build a professional central supply technician resume in minutes. Our AI resume writing assistant will guide you through every step of the process, and you can choose from 10+ resume templates to create your central supply technician resume.
Compare different central supply technicians
Central supply technician vs. Warehouse assistant
Warehouse assistants oversee a warehouse's stocks and products. Their primary responsibilities include receiving and sending products from the warehouse. They move materials and inventory across the facilities. It's their job to sort, organize, and keep stock in the right location. They are also responsible for issuing materials and other supplies for storage in the central warehouse. The skills they must acquire include road transportation, packing, stocking, loading, shipping, and general labor.
These skill sets are where the common ground ends though. The responsibilities of a central supply technician are more likely to require skills like "patients," "sterile processing," "infection control," and "surgery." On the other hand, a job as a warehouse assistant requires skills like "customer orders," "pallets," "industrial trucks," and "hand trucks." As you can see, what employees do in each career varies considerably.
Warehouse assistants tend to make the most money working in the transportation industry, where they earn an average salary of $36,486. In contrast, central supply technicians make the biggest average salary, $38,655, in the media industry.The education levels that warehouse assistants earn slightly differ from central supply technicians. In particular, warehouse assistants are 0.3% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree than a central supply technician. Additionally, they're 0.2% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Central supply technician vs. Warehouse worker
Warehouse workers are employees assigned to handle tasks inside the company's warehouse. They are in charge of managing the entry and exit of goods inside the warehouse, ensure that the inventory is up-to-date, and check the quality of the goods that are stored. Warehouse workers receive the items that are delivered to the warehouse, ensure that the items are complete using the delivery list, and keep the items safe in the designated area in the warehouse. They also clear any items that will exit the warehouse by ensuring that only the items that are on the list will be removed from the warehouse, and checking if these items are safely packed before leaving.
In addition to the difference in salary, there are some other key differences worth noting. For example, central supply technician responsibilities are more likely to require skills like "patients," "sterile processing," "infection control," and "surgery." Meanwhile, a warehouse worker has duties that require skills in areas such as "pallets," "basic math," "electric pallet jack," and "customer orders." These differences highlight just how different the day-to-day in each role looks.
Warehouse workers may earn a lower salary than central supply technicians, but warehouse workers earn the most pay in the manufacturing industry with an average salary of $34,731. On the other hand, central supply technicians receive higher pay in the media industry, where they earn an average salary of $38,655.In general, warehouse workers achieve similar levels of education than central supply technicians. They're 0.6% less likely to obtain a Master's Degree while being 0.2% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Central supply technician vs. Warehouse clerk
A warehouse clerk is an employee responsible for the process of ordered goods while keeping the warehouse well-organized and clean. Warehouse clerks accept company products' deliveries, inspect them for any damages, and store them accordingly in the warehouse. Companies require their warehouse clerks to have many skills, such as an operating forklift or other machinery to transport large and heavy goods. Warehouse clerks must also possess abilities like knowledge in Warehouse Management Software programs and detailed-oriented capable of noticing small errors in orders.
Some important key differences between the two careers include a few of the skills necessary to fulfill the responsibilities of each. Some examples from central supply technician resumes include skills like "sterile processing," "infection control," "surgery," and "surgical instruments," whereas a warehouse clerk is more likely to list skills in "work ethic," "strong work ethic," "logistics," and "pallets. "
Warehouse clerks earn the best pay in the transportation industry, where they command an average salary of $32,595. Central supply technicians earn the highest pay from the media industry, with an average salary of $38,655.warehouse clerks typically earn similar educational levels compared to central supply technicians. Specifically, they're 0.2% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 0.3% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Central supply technician vs. Warehouse associate
Warehouse associates are employees who take on any task needed at the company warehouse. They receive incoming deliveries, store the items in their proper places, scan the items to log them into the company system, manage stocks and inventory, conduct product inspection to check for damages or defects, and maintain the overall cleanliness of the warehouse. Warehouse associates are also responsible for receiving purchase orders, assembling and packing products related to orders, checking the accuracy of the products relative to the order, and ensuring proper shipment of the products.
Types of central supply technician
Updated January 8, 2025
