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Date: 11/16/2025

Medical Equipment Preparers

Prepare, sterilize, install, or clean laboratory or healthcare equipment. May perform routine laboratory tasks and operate or inspect equipment.

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    Work Activities

    Work Activities

    • Operate and maintain steam autoclaves, keeping records of loads completed, items in loads, and maintenance procedures performed.
    • Organize and assemble routine or specialty surgical instrument trays or other sterilized supplies, filling special requests as needed.
    • Stock crash carts or other medical supplies.
    • Purge wastes from equipment by connecting equipment to water sources and flushing water through systems.
    • Start equipment and observe gauges and equipment operation to detect malfunctions and to ensure equipment is operating to prescribed standards.
    • Deliver equipment to specified hospital locations or to patients' residences.
    • Disinfect and sterilize equipment, such as respirators, hospital beds, or oxygen or dialysis equipment, using sterilizers, aerators, or washers.
    • Operate and maintain steam autoclaves, keeping records of loads completed, items in loads, and maintenance procedures performed.
    • Report defective equipment to appropriate supervisors or staff.
    • Assist hospital staff with patient care duties, such as providing transportation or setting up traction.
    • Clean instruments to prepare them for sterilization.
    • Maintain records of inventory or equipment usage and order medical instruments or supplies when inventory is low.
    • Start equipment and observe gauges and equipment operation to detect malfunctions and to ensure equipment is operating to prescribed standards.
    • Record sterilizer test results.
    • Operate and maintain steam autoclaves, keeping records of loads completed, items in loads, and maintenance procedures performed.
    • Examine equipment to detect leaks, worn or loose parts, or other indications of disrepair.
    • Attend hospital in-service programs related to areas of work specialization.
    • Assist hospital staff with patient care duties, such as providing transportation or setting up traction.
    • Check sterile supplies to ensure that they are not outdated.
    • Deliver equipment to specified hospital locations or to patients' residences.

    Skills

    • Complex Problem Solving

      Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it.

    • Programming

      Writing computer programs.

    • Systems Evaluation

      Measuring how well a system is working and how to improve it.

    • Service Orientation

      Looking for ways to help people.

    • Active Listening

      Listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions.

    • Speaking

      Talking to others.

    • Management of Personnel Resources

      Selecting and managing the best workers for a job.

    • Coordination

      Changing what is done based on other people's actions.

    • Operations Analysis

      Figuring out what a product or service needs to be able to do.

    • Equipment Selection

      Deciding what kind of tools and equipment are needed to do a job.

    • Repairing

      Repairing machines or systems using the right tools.

    • Operation and Control

      Using equipment or systems.

    • Active Learning

      Figuring out how to use new ideas or things.

    • Mathematics

      Using math to solve problems.

    • Technology Design

      Making equipment and technology useful for customers.

    • Management of Financial Resources

      Making spending decisions and keeping track of what is spent.

    • Management of Material Resources

      Managing equipment and materials.

    • Social Perceptiveness

      Understanding people's reactions.

    • Judgment and Decision Making

      Thinking about the pros and cons of different options and picking the best one.

    • Installation

      Installing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs.

    • Reading Comprehension

      Reading work-related information.

    • Learning Strategies

      Using the best training or teaching strategies for learning new things.

    • Operations Monitoring

      Watching gauges, dials, or display screens to make sure a machine is working.

    • Critical Thinking

      Thinking about the pros and cons of different ways to solve a problem.

    • Persuasion

      Talking people into changing their minds or their behavior.

    • Equipment Maintenance

      Planning and doing the basic maintenance on equipment.

    • Systems Analysis

      Figuring out how a system should work and how changes in the future will affect it.

    • Instructing

      Teaching people how to do something.

    • Writing

      Writing things for co-workers or customers.

    • Science

      Using scientific rules and strategies to solve problems.

    • Quality Control Analysis

      Testing how well a product or service works.

    • Time Management

      Managing your time and the time of other people.

    • Monitoring

      Keeping track of how well people and/or groups are doing in order to make improvements.

    • Troubleshooting

      Figuring out what is causing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs to not work.

    • Negotiation

      Bringing people together to solve differences.

    WorkKeys®

    Applied Math
    4
    Workplace Documents
    4
    Graphic Literacy
    4

    Abilities

    • Manual Dexterity

      Holding or moving items with your hands.

    • Finger Dexterity

      Putting together small parts with your fingers.

    • Originality

      Creating new and original ideas.

    • Deductive Reasoning

      Using rules to solve problems.

    • Speed of Closure

      Quickly knowing what you are looking at.

    • Category Flexibility

      Grouping things in different ways.

    • Written Expression

      Communicating by writing.

    • Auditory Attention

      Paying attention to one sound while there are other distracting sounds.

    • Oral Comprehension

      Listening and understanding what people say.

    • Far Vision

      Seeing details that are far away.

    • Hearing Sensitivity

      Telling the difference between sounds.

    • Sound Localization

      Noticing the direction that a sound came from.

    • Gross Body Equilibrium

      Keeping your balance or staying upright.

    • Speech Clarity

      Speaking clearly.

    • Reaction Time

      Quickly moving your hand, finger, or foot based on a sound, light, picture or other command.

    • Gross Body Coordination

      Moving your arms, legs, and mid-section together while your whole body is moving.

    • Number Facility

      Adding, subtracting, multiplying, or dividing.

    • Mathematical Reasoning

      Choosing the right type of math to solve a problem.

    • Flexibility of Closure

      Seeing hidden patterns.

    • Written Comprehension

      Reading and understanding what is written.

    • Oral Expression

      Communicating by speaking.

    • Night Vision

      Seeing at night or under low light.

    • Extent Flexibility

      Bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching with your body, arms, and/or legs.

    • Speech Recognition

      Recognizing spoken words.

    • Depth Perception

      Deciding which thing is closer or farther away from you, or deciding how far away it is from you.

    • Near Vision

      Seeing details up close.

    • Explosive Strength

      Jumping, sprinting, or throwing something.

    • Dynamic Flexibility

      Quickly and repeatedly bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching out with your body, arms, and/or legs.

    • Rate Control

      Changing when and how fast you move based on how something else is moving.

    • Problem Sensitivity

      Noticing when problems happen.

    • Wrist-Finger Speed

      Making fast, simple, repeated movements of your fingers, hands, and wrists.

    • Perceptual Speed

      Quickly comparing groups of letters, numbers, pictures, or other things.

    • Inductive Reasoning

      Making general rules or coming up with answers from lots of detailed information.

    • Visual Color Discrimination

      Noticing the difference between colors, including shades and brightness.

    • Peripheral Vision

      Seeing something to your side when your are looking ahead.

    • Glare Sensitivity

      Seeing something even if there is a glare or very bright light.

    • Arm-Hand Steadiness

      Keeping your arm or hand steady.

    • Speed of Limb Movement

      Quickly moving your arms and legs.

    • Dynamic Strength

      Exercising for a long time without your muscles getting tired.

    • Fluency of Ideas

      Coming up with lots of ideas.

    • Trunk Strength

      Using your lower back and stomach.

    • Selective Attention

      Paying attention to something without being distracted.

    • Visualization

      Imagining how something will look after it is moved around or changed.

    • Time Sharing

      Doing two or more things at the same time.

    • Control Precision

      Quickly changing the controls of a machine, car, truck or boat.

    • Multilimb Coordination

      Using your arms and/or legs together while sitting, standing, or lying down.

    • Response Orientation

      Quickly deciding if you should move your hand, foot, or other body part.

    • Static Strength

      Lifting, pushing, pulling, or carrying.

    • Stamina

      Exercising for a long time without getting out of breath.

    • Information Ordering

      Ordering or arranging things.

    • Spatial Orientation

      Knowing where things are around you.

    • Memorization

      Remembering words, numbers, pictures, or steps.

    Knowledge

    • Sales and Marketing

      Knowledge of principles and methods for showing, promoting, and selling products or services. This includes marketing strategy and tactics, product demonstration, sales techniques, and sales control systems.

    • Physics

      Knowledge and prediction of physical principles, laws, their interrelationships, and applications to understanding fluid, material, and atmospheric dynamics, and mechanical, electrical, atomic and sub-atomic structures and processes.

    • Telecommunications

      Knowledge of transmission, broadcasting, switching, control, and operation of telecommunications systems.

    • Education and Training

      Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.

    • Communications and Media

      Knowledge of media production, communication, and dissemination techniques and methods. This includes alternative ways to inform and entertain via written, oral, and visual media.

    • Administration and Management

      Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.

    • Food Production

      Knowledge of techniques and equipment for planting, growing, and harvesting food products (both plant and animal) for consumption, including storage/handling techniques.

    • Computers and Electronics

      Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.

    • Customer and Personal Service

      Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.

    • Engineering and Technology

      Knowledge of the practical application of engineering science and technology. This includes applying principles, techniques, procedures, and equipment to the design and production of various goods and services.

    • Geography

      Knowledge of principles and methods for describing the features of land, sea, and air masses, including their physical characteristics, locations, interrelationships, and distribution of plant, animal, and human life.

    • Building and Construction

      Knowledge of materials, methods, and the tools involved in the construction or repair of houses, buildings, or other structures such as highways and roads.

    • Psychology

      Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.

    • Philosophy and Theology

      Knowledge of different philosophical systems and religions. This includes their basic principles, values, ethics, ways of thinking, customs, practices, and their impact on human culture.

    • Administrative

      Knowledge of administrative and office procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and workplace terminology.

    • Mathematics

      Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.

    • Design

      Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.

    • Economics and Accounting

      Knowledge of economic and accounting principles and practices, the financial markets, banking, and the analysis and reporting of financial data.

    • English Language

      Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, and rules of composition and grammar.

    • Public Safety and Security

      Knowledge of relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of people, data, property, and institutions.

    • Sociology and Anthropology

      Knowledge of group behavior and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures, and their history and origins.

    • Transportation

      Knowledge of principles and methods for moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road, including the relative costs and benefits.

    • Production and Processing

      Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.

    • Biology

      Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.

    • Mechanical

      Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.

    • Personnel and Human Resources

      Knowledge of principles and procedures for personnel recruitment, selection, training, compensation and benefits, labor relations and negotiation, and personnel information systems.

    • Therapy and Counseling

      Knowledge of principles, methods, and procedures for diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of physical and mental dysfunctions, and for career counseling and guidance.

    • Law and Government

      Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.

    • Foreign Language

      Knowledge of the structure and content of a foreign (non-English) language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition and grammar, and pronunciation.

    • Chemistry

      Knowledge of the chemical composition, structure, and properties of substances and of the chemical processes and transformations that they undergo. This includes uses of chemicals and their interactions, danger signs, production techniques, and disposal methods.

    • Medicine and Dentistry

      Knowledge of the information and techniques needed to diagnose and treat human injuries, diseases, and deformities. This includes symptoms, treatment alternatives, drug properties and interactions, and preventive health-care measures.

    • History and Archeology

      Knowledge of historical events and their causes, indicators, and effects on civilizations and cultures.

    • Fine Arts

      Knowledge of the theory and techniques required to compose, produce, and perform works of music, dance, visual arts, drama, and sculpture.

    Career Video

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    Pay

    • Ohio Annual Salary 44150/yr
    • Typical Salary
    • Ohio Hourly Wage 21.23/hr
    • Typical Hourly Wage

    Ohio Employment Trends

    • Currently Employed 2,950
    • Yearly Projected Openings 400

    Typical Education

    Personality

    Realistic: People interested in this work like activities that include practical, hands-on problems and solutions.They do well at jobs that need:
    • Attention to Detail
    • Dependability
    • Cooperation
    • Independence
    • Stress Tolerance
    • Integrity

    Tools

    • Automated endoscope reprocessor systems AERs
    • Bar code reader equipment
    • Chemical or gas sterilizers
    • Desktop computers
    • Dry heat or hot air sterilizers
    • Ear plugs
    • Heat tracing equipment
    • Heating or drying equipment or accessories
    • Laboratory flasks
    • Medical exam or non surgical procedure gloves
    • Medical staff aprons or bibs
    • Medical staff isolation or cover gowns
    • Pressure regulator
    • Protective gloves
    • Steam autoclaves or sterilizers
    • Sterilization biological kits
    • Sterilization heat sealers
    • Sterilization indicator strips
    • Sterilization test packs
    • Surgical instrument brushes or instrument stylets or instrument wipes
    • Surgical isolation or surgical masks
    • Surgical surgeon caps or hoods
    • Temperature regulators
    • Ultrasonic cleaning equipment

    Technology

    • Calendar and scheduling software
    • Data base user interface and query software
    • Document management software
    • Electronic mail software
    • Inventory management software
    • Materials requirements planning logistics and supply chain software
    • Medical software
    • Office suite software
    • Presentation software
    • Spreadsheet software
    • Time accounting software
    • Word processing software

    Tags

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