NOTICE: On March 1, 2023, the cost to take a certification exam is increasing to $140 USD.
If an exam application is received on or before February 28, HSPA will honor the exam fee of $125 USD.
The introductory certification for Sterile Processing (SP) professionals.
The CRCST certification program is designed to recognize entry-level and existing technicians who have demonstrated the experience, knowledge and skills necessary to provide competent services as an SP technician. CRCSTs are integral members of the healthcare team who are responsible for decontaminating, inspecting, assembling, disassembling, packaging and sterilizing reusable surgical instruments or devices in a healthcare facility.
The CRCST requires 12 continuing education (CE) credits per year to renew. These credits must focus on information and advancements relevant to the Sterile Processing field and be of a technical nature.
There is a $50 fee required to renew your certification (no matter how many you may hold). If you would like to purchase membership as an optional addition, there is an extra fee of $10.
Please note: CE credits reported for your renewal must have occurred within your renewal year.
If, for example, your renewal date is May 31, and you renewed early on May 4 last year, then your CE credits for this year must have occurred on or after May 5 of last year.
If, for example, your renewal date is May 31, and you renewed late last year on June 10, then your CE credits for this year must have occurred on or after June 11 of last year.
All certified individuals are responsible for submitting CE credits to renew each of their certifications annually. Continuing Education is to be accrued in hour increments:
1 hour equals 1 CE credit, ½ hour equals ½ CE credit, and ¼ hour equals ¼ CE credit.
There are several ways of achieving CE credit and you may use any combination of hours accumulated. The following are the four categories of CE available. More detailed information on each category can be found on the Continuing Education (CE) Submission Form.
Individuals may submit lesson plans, webinars, and podcasts online through www.myhspa.org, have lesson quizzes scored by Purdue University or submit approved lessons and certificates from other sources.
If you are submitting from vendors or other association websites, make sure the certificate printouts include your name, the completion date, the topic, and the CE value.
Individuals may submit inservices or meetings from their place of employment, relevant to Sterile Processing or job performance.
If you are submitting in-services or staff meetings, make sure they are either submitted on HSPA’s CE Submission Form or listed on your facility’s letterhead and include the date, topic, and duration/CE value of each event. Regardless of whether you use HSPA’s form or your facility’s letterhead, be sure both your name, and the name, title and signature of your supervisor/manager/educator are provided.
Individuals may submit attendance from HSPA conferences or meetings, or attendance from other pre-approved meetings/seminars.
If you are submitting Certificates of Attendance from conferences or seminars, make sure they include your name, the meeting date(s), the topic(s), the CE value provided, and the HSPA CE approval code.
Individuals may submit completion of a technical, community or secondary college course applicable toward Sterile Processing or job performance with a C grad or better.
If you are submitting transcripts from a course, make sure you provide an official transcript with the course completion date, title/topic, and your grade (C or better.)
Reading lesson plans are available for all HSPA certifications. Plans are published in PROCESS magazine, and available to read online. Scoring of the quizzes must be completed online, and successful passing scores are worth 2 CEs.
Covering a wide range of topics, HSPA webinars provide a visual learning tool to achieve continuing education toward HSPA certifications. Successful completion of a webinar followed by a survey will grant 1 CE.
The HSPA Process This! podcast shares conversations with known and upcoming leaders within the SP profession, available wherever you listen to your favorite podcast. Each edition is worth 0.5 CE, after successful completion of a quiz.
Renewing online is quick and easy. Upload your CE credits, pay your renewal fee, and your submission is instantly submitted to HSPA for processing.
If renewing by mail, please be sure to include all of your CE credits and your renewal fee with your mailed submission. Mailed renewals may take two to three weeks additional time for processing.