Lead Sterile Processing Tech
Posted Oct 5, 2026 · We last checked this listing on Oct 6, 2026
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Likely interview questions for this role
Written from this job description, not a generic list. Each one notes what the interviewer is really checking.
About your past
Tell me about a time you helped train a new sterile processing tech. How did you know they were ready?
What they are checking: Teaching skill and the judgment to verify competency rather than assume it.
Tell me about a time you suggested a change to a department policy or procedure.
What they are checking: Contributing to policy work with the supervisor, not just following existing rules.
What would you do
The OR calls and says a tray arrived with bioburden on an instrument. How do you handle it with the OR and with your team?
What they are checking: Owning the failure, finding the root cause and protecting patient safety without blaming the tech in front of others.
A tech on your shift keeps cutting corners in decontam when it gets busy. What do you do?
What they are checking: Whether they hold peers accountable as a lead, even when it is uncomfortable.
Surgery needs a tray in 30 minutes that is still in decontam. What are your options, and what would you not do?
What they are checking: Problem-solving under pressure without compromising sterilization or misusing immediate-use steam sterilization.
About the work
Walk me through how a tray moves through our department, from decontam to the OR.
What they are checking: A full picture of the workflow the lead oversees, including where things most often go wrong.
A biological indicator comes back positive. What do you do, step by step?
What they are checking: Knowing recall procedures and acting fast, since every load since the last good test may be in question.
How do you read a Bowie-Dick test and a chemical indicator, and what does each one tell you?
What they are checking: Understanding the quality tests that the lead is responsible for performing and interpreting.
Are you certified through HSPA or CBSPD, and how do you keep up with changes in standards like AAMI ST79?
What they are checking: Professional grounding in the standards that govern sterile processing work.
How do you keep track of instrument inventory and know when to order more or send items for repair?
What they are checking: Supply and equipment management that the posting asks the lead to help with.
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Practice this out loudThe full job description
As published by Northwestern Medicine.