What is used most when processing reusable medical devices? Water. Yet for years, the quality of water was not important unless there was staining, scaling, or pitting. Water has a broad impact on processing. It can damage instrumentation, cause cleaning equipment to fail, and transfer bacteria to medical devices resulting in infectious outbreaks. The knowledge of water in medical device processing is rising and with it there are quality expectations. Processing technicians now have new responsibilities to ensure the quality of water.
Learning Objectives
- Identify aspects of ANSI/AAMI ST108 that apply to processing technicians
- Describe the test methods that a processing technician would perform
About the Author

Pamela Carter, BSN, RN, CNOR, AGTS, CRCST, CER is a clinical education specialist for STERIS Corporation. She is a certified perioperative registered nurse with over 27 years of experience in a variety of specialties including nursing management, surgical nursing, sterile processing education and OR/SPD infection prevention and quality. In addition, Pamela has authored articles for AORN, HPN and HSPA, and is an active member of AAMI, AORN, APIC, ASCA, ASQ, HSPA, and SGNA.
Critical Connections: Improving SP and OR Synergy
Sterilization Quality Control: Your Path to Protecting Your Patients
Ensuring Success: Become a Preceptor for Robotic Assisted Surgery Instruments in the Sterile Processing Department
Lost in Translation: Ethical Dilemmas in Medical Manufacturing Instructions
What Sterile Processing Should Know About Multidrug-Resistant Organisms (MDRO)
Making the Right Choice for Sterile Processing Consumable Stock Outages
UV-C Disinfection Technologies: How it works and what are the current applications for health care settings
The Differences Between Peracetic Acid High-level Disinfectants and Sterilants
The Mystery of Bowie & Dick: Alterations in the Vacuum on Your Sterilizer Throughout the Year
Meeting the Challenges of Endoscope Reprocessing and Documentation
Education Nation: Sterile Processing Quality Management Systems
Product testing: The overlooked 4th pillar of a robust sterilization process monitoring program
Importance of Water Quality for Medical Device Reprocessing
Mechanical Cleaning Safety: A Tale of Two Sides
Sterilization Choices for the SPD
When Is Disposable the Right Choice for SPD?
Education Nation: Sterile Processing Leadership Planning Sessions
How Safe Is Your Sink?
Sterile Processing Education – The balancing act between documentation and application
Moisture Absorption Devices….No This Is Not a Wet Pack Article
Positive Biological Indicators
Washer disinfector release for use after maintenance
Beyond the visual: The importance of quality cleaning verification programs
Education nation: Creating Sterile Processing Department SOPs
Cross out cross contamination in endoscope processing
What’s new in AAMI ST79:2017? A review
Healthcare soils 101: Identifying and removing them
Expiration dating in the SPD
The Science of Speed
The fantastic four: Sterile processing, operating room, quality and education
Ugh! Another wet pack. What’s a technician to do?
Sterilization quality control: Validation, routine monitoring go hand in hand
Manual cleaning – The critical human element
Water for cleaning medical devices
Can you afford to ignore obsolescence?
Automatic Equipment and Productivity in a Sterile Processing Department
External Transport of Medical Devices
Troubleshooting Washer-Disinfector Performance
Understanding Bowie-Dick Testing: Purpose and Usage in Daily Sterilization Practice

