Get Ready for Season 19: Sterile Processing 101

We’re kicking off a brand-new season of First Case! This one is all about one of the most critical (and often least understood) parts of perioperative care: sterile processing.

Every instrument we use in the OR goes through a complex journey before it ever reaches our back table, and then it repeats the cycle, case after case after case. But for many OR nurses, much of that process happens behind the scenes, and we never see the full process that our instruments go through.

But this season is going to change that!

Introducing: Sterile Processing 101

In this season, we’re taking a step-by-step look at the instrument reprocessing lifecycle and breaking it down into practical, easy-to-understand conversations designed specifically for the OR. We're going to follow our instruments from the moment they’re used all the way through the sterile processing cycle, through storage, until the come back into the OR again.

What We’ll Cover This Season

Each episode focuses on a key part of the process, including:

• The instrument lifecycle — from dirty to sterile and back again

• Point-of-use treatment — what should happen in the OR before instruments ever leave the room

• Decontamination — how instruments are cleaned and why it matters

• Inspection and assembly — how trays are built, tested, and prepared

• Sterilization basics — how we ensure instruments are safe for the next patient

• Reading the tray — understanding indicators, packaging, and sterility checks

• Storage and event-related sterility — how sterility is maintained after processing

• What happens when things go wrong — sterility breaches, errors, and communication

Why This Season Matters

This season is about more than just understanding what happens in sterile processing. It's about understanding how everything is connected. Because the reality is that what happens in the OR impacts what happens in sterile processing and what happens in sterile processing impacts every case that follows.

Join Us!

Whether you’re looking to strengthen your foundational knowledge, improve workflows, or better understand the “why” behind the process, this season is built for you. The first episode airs on Monday, April 6th! Don't miss it!

Until next time,

Melanie