Table 1Transition record

anaesthetic techniciantosterile services technician

A anaesthetic technician already meets 40% of what the sterile services technician role asks for. The move turns on 12 required skills not yet in the profile.

From anaesthetic technician

40%

Overlap1

To sterile services technician

11 Skills carried over

12 Required, not held

59.8 Difficulty2

Career overlap Partial match

40%

Learning distance Substantial retraining

59.8/ 100

Easy adjacentmoderatesubstantialcareer change Hard

1 Share of the sterile services technician role’s weighted skill requirement already met by the anaesthetic technician profile. Required skills count in full, supplementary skills at 0.35. Directional: the figure for the reverse move differs. 2 Combines what is missing with how specialised it is, so a gap of general skills scores easier than the same number of narrow ones.

Why

Why this move works

A sterile services technician role treats 9 of its required skills as things a anaesthetic technician already does. These are the ones it depends on most.

communicate in healthcare
comply with legislation related to health care
comply with quality standards related to healthcare practice
infection control
manage infection control in the facility
professional documentation in health care

What stands in the way is 12 required skills the profile does not yet cover. Table 3 groups them; Table 4 says which to take first.

Table 2

Table 2 · What you already bring

Of the 11 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. A sterile services technician role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of a anaesthetic technician background worth leading with.

Skill the target role also needs Area

already held surgical asepsis health and welfare
already held dispose medical waste handling and moving
already held infection control health and welfare
already held manage infection control in the facility assisting and caring
already held sterilization techniques health and welfare
already held professional documentation in health care health and welfare

All 11 carried skills, including the 9 the sterile services technician role treats as required.

Table 3

Table 3 · What you would need to learn

The 19 missing skills fall into 9 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, numbered below in the order worth working in: the areas carrying the most required skills come first, and inside each one the required skills sit above the supplementary ones.

Skill to acquire Tier

01 handling and moving 3 required, 2 supplementary

required, not held sterilise medical equipment required
required, not held participate in medical inventory control required
required, not held repackage medical equipment after sterilisation required

optional, not held follow procedures to control substances hazardous to health optional
optional, not held handle chemical cleaning agents optional

02 assisting and caring 2 required, 1 supplementary

required, not held adhere to organisational guidelines required
required, not held follow clinical guidelines required

optional, not held select hazard control optional

03 natural sciences, mathematics and statistics 2 required

required, not held microbiology-bacteriology required
required, not held microscopic techniques required

04 working with machinery and specialised equipment 2 required

required, not held operate microscope required
required, not held use technical equipment for sterilisation required

05 communication, collaboration and creativity 1 required, 1 supplementary

required, not held follow written instructions required

optional, not held communicate in foreign languages with health service providers optional

06 services 1 required, 1 supplementary

required, not held hygiene in a health care setting required

optional, not held health care system optional

3 further areas in the appendix

Table 4

Table 4 · Where to start

The 3 entries a sterile services technician role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.

Each entry opens a course search for that skill. Career Overlap earns nothing from these links.

Appendix

Appendix · The rest of the record

All 11 skills that carry over

Skill Type

already held communicate in healthcare skill
already held comply with legislation related to health care skill
already held comply with quality standards related to healthcare practice skill
already held infection control knowledge
already held manage infection control in the facility skill
already held professional documentation in health care knowledge
already held sterilization techniques knowledge
already held surgical asepsis knowledge
already held work in multidisciplinary health teams skill
already held dispose medical waste skill
already held medical informatics knowledge

The 3 learning areas not shown above

Skill to acquire Tier

07 management skills 1 required

required, not held maintain personal hygiene standards required

08 business, administration and law 1 supplementary

optional, not held e-procurement optional

09 health and welfare 1 supplementary

optional, not held medical devices materials optional

7 supplementary skills, helpful but not required

Skill to acquire Tier

optional, not held e-procurement optional
optional, not held follow procedures to control substances hazardous to health optional
optional, not held communicate in foreign languages with health service providers optional
optional, not held handle chemical cleaning agents optional
optional, not held health care system optional
optional, not held medical devices materials optional
optional, not held select hazard control optional

47 held skills the sterile services technician role does not ask for

Skill Type

not needed by the target role administer anaesthetics to patients skill
not needed by the target role anaesthetics knowledge
not needed by the target role arrange surgery operating site skill
not needed by the target role assess patients after surgery skill
not needed by the target role assist in epilepsy surgery skill
not needed by the target role assist with hemostasis skill
not needed by the target role biophysics knowledge
not needed by the target role conduct preoperative investigations skill
not needed by the target role deal with emergency care situations skill
not needed by the target role demonstrate technical skills during neurological surgery skill
not needed by the target role emergency medicine knowledge
not needed by the target role emergency surgery knowledge
not needed by the target role empathise with the healthcare user skill
not needed by the target role endoscopy knowledge
not needed by the target role ensure safety of healthcare users skill
not needed by the target role ensure the positioning of the patient for surgery skill
not needed by the target role first aid knowledge
not needed by the target role human anatomy knowledge
not needed by the target role human physiology knowledge
not needed by the target role instruct on allergic reactions to anaesthetics skill
not needed by the target role intensive care medicine knowledge
not needed by the target role maintain anaesthetic machinery skill
not needed by the target role manage acute pain skill
not needed by the target role manage adverse reactions to anaesthesia skill
not needed by the target role manage healthcare users' data skill
not needed by the target role manage trauma through surgical means skill
not needed by the target role medical terminology knowledge
not needed by the target role monitor basic patients signs skill
not needed by the target role monitor patients during surgery skill
not needed by the target role monitor stock level skill
not needed by the target role order supplies for anaesthesia services skill
not needed by the target role perform bronchoscopy skill
not needed by the target role perform eye surgery skill
not needed by the target role perform reconstructive microsurgery skill
not needed by the target role perform vascular surgery therapeutic procedures skill
not needed by the target role perform venepuncture procedures skill
not needed by the target role pharmacology knowledge
not needed by the target role positions for surgical procedures knowledge
not needed by the target role radiation protection knowledge
not needed by the target role resuscitation knowledge

7 further entries not listed here

6 gaps that are knowledge rather than practice

Knowledge gaps usually close through study. Practical skill gaps usually need something you can point at.

Skill to acquire Tier

required, not held microbiology-bacteriology required
required, not held hygiene in a health care setting required
required, not held microscopic techniques required
optional, not held e-procurement optional
optional, not held health care system optional
optional, not held medical devices materials optional

Index

Other moves recorded from anaesthetic technician

Full index of moves from anaesthetic technician

Note

How this record was compiled

Both occupations are taken from ESCO, which lists the skills and knowledge each occupation is expected to have and marks every one required or optional. Nothing here is a prediction about hiring, and nothing here knows that a particular employer wants a particular certificate. Treat Table 3 as a starting point for your own research rather than a syllabus. The full method states what these figures can and cannot tell you.