Lead the department that protects every patient
SP Leadership Academy gives working SPD technicians and current leads the management framework, regulatory command, and exam-ready confidence to earn the CBSPD CSPM or HSPA CHL certification — and finally lead with the authority your experience deserves.
"Your floor experience is your greatest asset — this academy gives it the leadership structure it deserves."
— Nathan Hostetter
What you'll learn
What you'll be able to do
- Apply core management frameworks — staffing, scheduling, budgeting, and performance management — directly to a Sterile Processing department.
- Lead and motivate SPD teams through change, conflict, and high-pressure surgical-volume environments.
- Interpret and enforce regulatory standards (Joint Commission, AAMI, OSHA) at a supervisory and managerial level.
- Build and defend a department budget, justify capital equipment purchases, and track productivity metrics.
- Design and implement quality-assurance and process-improvement programs specific to sterile processing workflows.
- Pass the CBSPD Certified Sterile Processing Manager (CSPM) or HSPA Certified Healthcare Leader (CHL) certification examination.
How it works
A school that adapts to you
This isn't a set of static videos. Every lesson is generated live and tuned to where you actually are.
We learn your level
A quick placement check tailors your starting point so you're never bored or lost.
Lessons adapt as you go
Each lesson is written for your pace and your goal, adjusting as your skills grow.
Your AI coach keeps you moving
Checkpoints, feedback, and gentle nudges turn progress into a real result.
The curriculum
What's inside your school
7 modules · 35 lessons
The SPD Leader: Role, Identity, and Foundations
Establishes the mindset shift from technician to leader and introduces the management frameworks tested on the CSPM and CHL exams.
- 1.1From Bench to Leadership: Making the TransitionIncluded
- 1.2Core Management Theories and Their SPD ApplicationsIncluded
- 1.3Organizational Structure and Reporting RelationshipsIncluded
- 1.4Professional Ethics and Standards of Conduct for SPD LeadersIncluded
- 1.5CSPM and CHL Exam Overview: Blueprints, Eligibility, and StrategyIncluded
Human Resources and Workforce Management
Equips leaders with the staffing, scheduling, hiring, and performance-management tools needed to run an SPD team.
- 2.1Staffing Models and Workload AnalysisIncluded
- 2.2Scheduling Strategies for 24/7 SPD OperationsIncluded
- 2.3Recruiting, Interviewing, and Onboarding SPD StaffIncluded
- 2.4Performance Evaluation, Coaching, and Progressive DisciplineIncluded
- 2.5Employee Engagement, Retention, and Reducing TurnoverIncluded
Financial Management and Budgeting for SPD Leaders
Builds the financial literacy leaders need to create, defend, and manage an SPD departmental budget.
- 3.1Healthcare Finance Basics: Revenue, Cost, and Hospital AccountingIncluded
- 3.2Building and Managing the SPD Operating BudgetIncluded
- 3.3Capital Equipment Planning and Business Case DevelopmentIncluded
- 3.4Productivity Metrics, KPIs, and Data-Driven Decision MakingIncluded
- 3.5Cost Reduction, Value Analysis, and Supply Chain CollaborationIncluded
Regulatory Compliance, Risk, and Quality Standards
Prepares leaders to interpret, implement, and enforce the regulatory and accreditation standards governing sterile processing.
- 4.1Joint Commission Standards Applicable to SPDIncluded
- 4.2AAMI, CDC, and FDA Guidelines: Implementation at the Manager LevelIncluded
- 4.3OSHA, Employee Safety, and Hazard Communication in SPDIncluded
- 4.4Infection Prevention Partnerships and Surgical Site Infection AccountabilityIncluded
- 4.5Survey Readiness: Preparing Your SPD for Accreditation VisitsIncluded
Quality Assurance, Process Improvement, and Patient Safety
Develops leaders' ability to design and sustain QA programs and lead process-improvement initiatives in the SPD.
- 5.1Quality Management Frameworks: PDCA, Lean, and Six Sigma in SPDIncluded
- 5.2Designing and Managing an SPD Quality Assurance ProgramIncluded
- 5.3Incident Reporting, Root Cause Analysis, and Corrective ActionIncluded
- 5.4Instrument Tracking Systems and Traceability TechnologyIncluded
- 5.5Building a Culture of Safety and Continuous ImprovementIncluded
Leadership, Communication, and Organizational Effectiveness
Strengthens the interpersonal, strategic, and change-leadership skills that separate effective SPD managers from great ones.
- 6.1Leadership Styles and Situational Leadership in HealthcareIncluded
- 6.2Conflict Resolution and Difficult ConversationsIncluded
- 6.3Change Management: Leading SPD Teams Through TransitionIncluded
- 6.4Effective Communication, Reporting Up, and Cross-Departmental CollaborationIncluded
- 6.5Strategic Planning, Department Growth, and Career DevelopmentIncluded
Certification Exam Preparation and Final Assessment
Consolidates all course content through focused exam review, practice testing, and a proctored final exam aligned to CSPM and CHL blueprints.
- 7.1CSPM Exam Blueprint Deep Dive and Domain ReviewIncluded
- 7.2CHL Exam Blueprint Deep Dive and Domain ReviewIncluded
- 7.3Comprehensive Practice Exam and Performance AnalysisIncluded
- 7.4Test-Taking Strategies, Time Management, and Exam-Day ReadinessIncluded
- 7.5Final Certification ExamIncluded
Who it's for
Is this you?
The high-potential tech
A skilled SPD technician who has been informally mentoring colleagues and is ready to make the formal leap into a lead or supervisor role.
The working SPD lead
Currently holding a lead title but running on instinct — wants the management framework and a certification to back up what she already does every day.
The new SPD supervisor
Recently promoted from tech to supervisor and navigating HR, scheduling, and regulatory compliance for the first time without a roadmap.
The CSPM/CHL candidate
A seasoned SPD professional with the eligibility requirements met who needs a structured, exam-specific prep program to earn a recognized management credential.
The veteran SPD manager
Has managed SPD departments for years and wants to formalize her expertise, sharpen her financial acumen, and finally add a certification to her résumé.
The SPD director leveling up
Overseeing multiple facilities or a large SPD operation and looking to strengthen strategic planning, cross-departmental communication, and quality-program design.
Questions
Frequently asked
Your teacher
A note from your teacher
Nathan Hostetter
If you are reading this, I already know something about you. You have spent real time on the SPD floor — decontamination, assembly, sterilization, the whole cycle. You know what it means when a tray comes back incomplete an hour before a case. You understand the stakes in a way that most people in the hospital never will. And at some point, someone saw that in you and said, "You should be a lead." Or maybe you have already been leading — without a title, without a raise, and definitely without a management framework that was ever taught to you formally.
That gap — between what you know on the floor and what you need to lead a department — is exactly what SP Leadership Academy was built to close. Not with generic business-school theory, but with management content that speaks your language: staffing models built for 24/7 surgical support, budgets that account for instrument repair and capital sterilizer replacement, quality programs anchored in AAMI standards and Joint Commission readiness. You will learn to have the conversations that matter — with your OR director, your CNO, your HR partner — and to walk in with data, not just opinions.
I also know that many of you are preparing for the CSPM or the CHL, and that the certification landscape can feel overwhelming. "Which exam? Am I eligible? What does the blueprint actually test?" We answer all of that — and then we prepare you for both exams, domain by domain, with practice assessments that show you exactly where to focus your energy before exam day.
Here is what I want you to understand: leadership in SPD is not about leaving the profession you are proud of. It is about protecting it — raising the standard for your team, your patients, and every technician who comes after you. When your department has a strong leader who can read a budget, navigate a survey, and develop staff rather than just manage them, patient outcomes improve. That is not an abstraction. That is your work, elevated.
If you are ready to stop learning leadership by trial and error and start building it with intention, this is where you do it. Welcome to the next chapter of your career.
— Nathan Hostetter
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- 7 modules, 35 lessons
- AI-adaptive lessons tuned to your level
- Quizzes & checkpoints to lock in progress
- Your own AI learning coach
- Learn on any device, at your pace
- Full access for as long as you're subscribed