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Medical supply technician vs sterilization specialist

The differences between medical supply technicians and sterilization specialists can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 1-2 years to become both a medical supply technician and a sterilization specialist. Additionally, a sterilization specialist has an average salary of $57,057, which is higher than the $38,049 average annual salary of a medical supply technician.

The top three skills for a medical supply technician include sterile processing, veterans and patients. The most important skills for a sterilization specialist are OSHA, autoclaves, and AAMI.

Medical supply technician vs sterilization specialist overview

Medical Supply TechnicianSterilization Specialist
Yearly salary$38,049$57,057
Hourly rate$18.29$27.43
Growth rate1%10%
Number of jobs79,3214,372
Job satisfaction-5
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 29%Bachelor's Degree, 33%
Average age4343
Years of experience22

Medical supply technician vs sterilization specialist salary

Medical supply technicians and sterilization specialists have different pay scales, as shown below.

Medical Supply TechnicianSterilization Specialist
Average salary$38,049$57,057
Salary rangeBetween $28,000 And $50,000Between $38,000 And $83,000
Highest paying CityWest Haven, CT-
Highest paying stateConnecticut-
Best paying companyGeneral Dynamics-
Best paying industryGovernment-

Differences between medical supply technician and sterilization specialist education

There are a few differences between a medical supply technician and a sterilization specialist in terms of educational background:

Medical Supply TechnicianSterilization Specialist
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 29%Bachelor's Degree, 33%
Most common majorBusinessBusiness
Most common collegeSUNY Stony BrookBoston University

Medical supply technician vs sterilization specialist demographics

Here are the differences between medical supply technicians' and sterilization specialists' demographics:

Medical Supply TechnicianSterilization Specialist
Average age4343
Gender ratioMale, 62.4% Female, 37.6%Male, 42.3% Female, 57.7%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 11.7% Unknown, 5.0% Hispanic or Latino, 17.0% Asian, 8.5% White, 56.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.5%Black or African American, 10.3% Unknown, 4.5% Hispanic or Latino, 20.8% Asian, 9.1% White, 53.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.4%
LGBT Percentage9%9%

Differences between medical supply technician and sterilization specialist duties and responsibilities

Medical supply technician example responsibilities.

  • Cataloge property, maintain property records and manage inventory using PBUSE system.
  • Heat liable items are gas sterilize using ETO gas sterilizer and Sterrad sterilizer.
  • Perform biological testing for the steam and sterrad each day.
  • Maintain the sterilizers and conduct flash sterilization/IUSS whenever necessary.
  • Monitor performance of sterilizers for quality control by conducting bacteriological tests.
  • Implement new policy and procedure for surgical graphs requiring re-sterilization to reduce problems for patients.
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Sterilization specialist example responsibilities.

  • Lead cross functional project team to build user-friendly windows base customer support applications which interface with the OmniPlan/OmniPlus mainframe application.
  • Facilitate the sterilization process of dental instruments in compliance with OSHA standards.
  • Perform steam, ETO and gamma yearly revalidations in according with ISO guidelines.
  • Follow OSHA requirements for disinfecting and preparing dental instruments for both the dentists and hygienists.
  • Architect FDA product application submission strategy for parametric release.
  • Investigate audit findings with regulatory implications, prepare comprehensive report for senior leadership, and develop targeted CAPA.
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Medical supply technician vs sterilization specialist skills

Common medical supply technician skills
  • Sterile Processing, 14%
  • Veterans, 11%
  • Patients, 10%
  • Surgical Instruments, 9%
  • Sterilizers, 8%
  • Medical Terminology, 8%
Common sterilization specialist skills
  • OSHA, 18%
  • Autoclaves, 13%
  • AAMI, 12%
  • Sterilizers, 11%
  • ISO, 10%
  • FDA, 8%

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