About the CBSPD, Inc.

The Certification Board for Sterile Processing and Distribution, Inc. (CBSPD), formerly the NICHSPDP, is a non-profit Certification Board which plans, develops and administers competency-based "International" certification examinations for personnel performing cleaning, disinfection, sterilization and inventory management activities, regardless of the setting. The CBSPD is administered by a Board of Directors who have extensive expertise in the profession of healthcare sterile processing and distribution. In 1988 the NICHSPDP was organized and founded and is incorporated in the state of New Jersey. Since its inaugural examination in 1991, the CBSPD has credentialed over 31,000 personnel internationally. There are currently over 13,500 active certificants. We can be reached by phone at 1-908-236-0530 Monday-Friday, 9:30am - 5:30pm Eastern Time, or by mail at CBSPD, 148 Main Street, Suite C-1, Lebanon, NJ, 08833, or by e-mail at mailbox@sterileprocessing.org.

Nancy Chobin, R.N., CSPDM, Executive Director, Email
Teckla Ann Maresca, L.P.N., CSPDM, Chairperson, CEU Review Committee, E-mail
Karen Swanson, L.P.N, CSPDM, Test Development Committee Liaison, E-mail
Nora Wikander, R.N., CSPDM, Co-Chairperson, CEU Review Committee, E-mail
Martha Young, CSPDT, International Liaison Representative, E-mail
M. Eleanor Reilly, R.N., CSPDM, Board Member Emeritus, E-mail
Margaret "Peggy" Ryan, R.N., CSPDM, Board Member Emeritus, E-mail
Sue McManus, R.N., CSPDM, Board Member Emeritus, Ethics Committee Chairperson, E-mail

Nyla "Skee" Japp, R.N., PhD, CSPDM, Management Representative, Email
Jeanette Bakker, CSPDT, CSIP, CSIS, Surgical Instrument Specialist Representative, Email
Marie Long, CSPDT, Technician Representative, Email
Karen Zervopoulos, R.N., CSPDT, CFER, GI Scope Representative, Email
Gail Law, R.N., CASSPT, CSPDT, CSPDM, Ambulatory Surgery Representative, Email
Paul Letersky, B.A., J.D., Public Member, Email

The CBSPD’s Certification Program meets the American Educational Research Association, American Psychological Association and National Council on Measurement in Education’s joint technical standards for testing. The program has been designed to comply with the Standards for Educational and Psychological Testing, which are the highest in the industry.

ACCREDITATION - The CBSPD's Technician certification is accredited by The National Commission for Certifying Agencies (NCCA)...which is widely known as the "Source for Credentialing Solutions". The Surgical Instrument Specialist certification is pending approval. The CBSPD is the ONLY sterile processing certification organization that holds this highest honor in the SPD/CS certification industry!

The CBSPD Board contracts with Lasergrade/PSI, Vancouver, WA, which provides all test administration services including secure computerized exams, proctor selection, test site selection, scoring of examinations and reporting of scores to the CBSPD, Inc. All psychometric services are contracted to BoCol; Burlington, NJ.

The CBSPD is committed to the certification of healthcare sterile processing and distribution personnel regardless of their workplace setting. Certification provides internationally recognized competency-based measurable standards. The objectives of the certification program are to:

To promote the education of healthcare sterile processing and distribution personnel through certification to ensure safe and effective levels of practice to protect the public.
To recognize healthcare sterile processing and distribution personnel who have achieved certification having met measurable standards for the profession.
To promote continuing education for those individuals working in the healthcare sterile processing and distribution profession.
To encourage re-certification by those individuals previously recognized as certified.

To maintain a publicly accessible certification registry of healthcare sterile processing and distribution personnel.
To promote professional accountability for healthcare sterile processing and distribution personnel.

There are five levels of certification that the CBSPD offers; Technician, Surgical Instrument Specialist, Flexible Endoscope Reprocessor, Ambulatory Surgery Technician, and Management. The examinations for each level are given 4 times per year. Exams inside the U.S. are given on computer. For tests outside the U.S., exams are still given in paper/pencil format. For exact exam dates, please click here. The examinations are offered at test sites throughout the U.S. and internationally. There are now over 1,100 test sites throughout the U.S. and Canada to choose from. Special test sites can be established at any healthcare facility outside the U.S for the paper/pencil exams.

Upon successful completion of the examination, your certification remains valid for five years (not just ONE year like some other certification companies). No other organization offers this length of certification...and re-certification is very simple!

The cost to take our Technician, Surgical Instrument Specialist, Ambulatory Surgery Technician and Flexible Endoscope Reprocessor exams is 125 U.S. dollars. For the Management exam, the cost is 150 U.S. dollars. To view individual requirements to take the exams, please see our certification exam pages at the top of this webpage in yellow. For more details, please download a recent Candidate Bulletin for your exam from our downloads page.

Re-certification can be accomplished through re-examination or a combination of work experience and continuing education. For a review of re-certification requirements, please see our Continuing Education page.

The CBSPD offers Study Guides for each examination; Technician, Surgical Instrument Specialist, Ambulatory Surgery Technician, Flexible Endoscope Reprocessor, and Management. The prices for all of our Study Guide's is $20 USD each. Most major credit cards are accepted as well as money orders, and bank/facility checks. There are many options for ordering study material. By phone you can call the CBSPD at 1-908-236-0530 to request a book order form by fax or mail (you can order right away by using a credit card.) You can order fast through our "secure" on-line book order form. Purchase orders and personal checks are not accepted.

The CBSPD reviews educational programs for continuing education credits towards re-certification for those individuals certified through the CBSPD. Seminars should be submitted by the program sponsor at least 6 weeks prior to the Seminar date. Departmental Inservices should be submitted by the department Supervisor or Manager within 30 days of providing the Inservice.

Regardless of the continuing education received, all continuing education must be documented. The CBSPD requires that a certificate of attendance be provided for each Inservice/Seminar. At a minimum, the certificate should include the individual's name, date of the education, topic(s), number of contact hours approved, approval code number and signature of the department head or Seminar representative.

It is the candidate's responsibility to retain all their continuing education records in a safe place until such time for re-certification.

For those facilities which have computerization of Inservice education, the department manager should write in the Approval Code numbers for each program and sign the Inservice documentation sheet certifying that the employee attended all the programs listed.

To have your programs reviewed, please contact the CBSPD and ask for a "CEU packet" or simply view and fill out our on-line version.

The CBSPD offers lapel pins for CBSPD certified technicians, surgical instrument processors and specialists, flexible endoscope reprocessors, and ambulatory surgery technicians (all $10 each), as well as CBSPD certified supervisors, managers, and management (all $15 each). Verification of certification is required when making the purchase.

Each pin is designed differently and has a different color scheme. Please see our on-line Merchandise order form for pictures and to place an order.

The CBSPD also offers insulated lunch bags ($5 each). The bags are teal and navy blue with a velcro enclosure. The CBSPD name and logo are printed in white on the front. A picture of this item is also on our on-line merchandise order form.

Replacement certification or re-certification certificates are available for $10 each as well as ID cards for $5 each. These can be requested via phone at 1-908-236-0530 or through our on-line merchandise order form.