The Maritime Business College Medical Device Reprocessing Technician (MDRT) instructor’s mother was an MDRT and his father was head of Environmental Services for a hospital.
Originally, he didn’t plan to pursue a career in healthcare. He changed his mind following jobs with General Motors, Telus and other companies.
In 2013, he took a job at a clinic with his mother and fell in love with the work.
He attended a certification program with the Central Services Association of Ontario that assisted people in becoming technicians in medical device reprocessing’s early days. He then took a one-year college certificate at Centennial College in Toronto.
Being an MDRT is something that he has become passionate about. One day he’s working with something old like a scalpel or a retractor and the next day it’s brand new state-of-the-art robots doing the surgery while the doctor looks at a screen.
“You’re never bored,” he said. “It’s always changing. It is never stagnant. No day is the same, so there is always a thrill. You go home knowing you made a difference at the end of the day.”
He added seeing patients who without hope, then having it following a transplant or surgery is something he and other MDRTs can take pride in because they played a part in that process.
“Just going home and knowing that you’re exhausted, you’re tired, it was a hard day, but someone made it through that day because you helped prepare that surgery and (the doctor and nurses) performed that is just a fulfilling and satisfying part of the job.”
Casey continually upgrades his skills and acquires additional certifications within the industry, which is a big part of the career for any MDRT.
“Medicine’s always changing so therefore we always have to be doing a lot of continuing education and it’s important,” he said.
He found out about the MBC’s MDRT program from a previous instructor. One day while checking his email, he found one from MBC asking Certified Medical Device Reprocessing Technicians if they were interested in an instructor opening. Two weeks later, he was preparing for his first class of students, which began in May 2024.
“It’s a great opportunity to be able to teach the next generation,” said Casey. “To come in and to be able to see that passion and wonder in their eyes as they’re learning about it for the first time. It reminds me of the whole reason why I went into MDR and what I love about it.”
As an instructor, he finds a way to tailor delivery of the curriculum to a learning style that works best for students.
“There were students who the best way they learned was practical,” added Casey. “Being able to do that practical hands on with them allowed them to excel far greater than in an actual academic and theory setting.”
Some students were artistic in nature and he was able to take the theory and tailor it in a way so they could demonstrate they learned through their artistic abilities.
Another thing he instills in the students is a single surgical procedure in a hospital can’t happen without an MDRT’s participation.
“Right down to something as simple as going into the ER and getting stitches. You actually can’t have those stitches done without an MDR tech behind it preparing the actual procedure tray that is needed to put the stitches in you. All the way up to an advanced robotic situation of putting in a new knee or a new hip.”
He also allows the students to make mistakes.
“Here we allow them to make as many mistakes as they want,” he said. “We would rather them make the mistakes here than in the hospital and be able to learn from them.”
