Selendra Barefield, B.S., CRCST, CHL, CIS
My Story
I was born in California, but I live in Georgia. I have one younger sister and two nephews. I'm married to the coolest man ever, and together we are learning how to navigate life. I love the outdoors and craft beer. I enjoy craft beer so much, I started home brewing. I discovered Sterile Processing/ Central Service by accident. I was unemployed and looking for a job. My Auntie, reached out to her connection at our local Employment Department and they told her about a program funded by the U.S. Department of Labor (Sterile Processing). I jumped on it. The course was 8 hours a day, five days a week for 30 days. It was a full-time job without the income. I relied on my Sister, Mother and a close friend for my housing. In other words, I lived on my Sister sofa in her living room. I relied on food stamps to feed myself. I relied on a bus passed issued by the program to get to and from class. After the 30 days of classroom studies, we (18 classmates) started our 400 hours of externship. At the conclusion of the 400 hours, I took my IAHCSMM exam and I passed. I applied to two hospitals and in two days, I had an interview at UCLA Medical Center in Santa Monica, California. It changed my life. I was able to trade in the sofa for a studio apartment, I was able to trade in the bus pass for a old 1990 Toyota Tercel and I traded in the food stamps for a career. I worked at UCLA- Santa Monica for two years before moving to Colorado, where I was promoted to Lead Technician and I picked up my CIS and CHL certifications. I moved from Colorado to Georgia, and I started my 2 year Sterile Processing travel career. In 2018 I started my Facebook group and I started building websites. In 2019, I registered Eye On Sterile Processing Department LLC with the state of Georgia and I went back to college. In 2020, I started my podcast as a birthday gift to myself. In 2021, I graduated from Columbia Southern University with a degree in B.S.; Organizational Leadership. My goals are to encourage, influence and grow as a person.
