Edna Gilliam
Assistant vice president of perioperative services and sterile processing at a Delaware hospital system; OR nurse by background
Edna Gilliam (Assistant vice president of perioperative services and sterile processing at a Delaware hospital system; OR nurse by background) has appeared as a guest on 1 episode in TMT. Topics they speak about most include Sterile processing, Perioperative nursing, Professional certification versus competency verification.
In their words
Positions and remarks grouped by topic, each with the exact quote and where it was said.
Sterile processing
Gilliam says she is rebuilding her department because SPD is the least recognized department yet deserves recognition.
“they're the department that's least recognized but deserve all the recognition”
Bred To Lead: Bonus: The Next Revolution in Surgery Is Happening Outside the OR (Oct 23, 2026) · Listen from 1:02:21
Gilliam says that when she first became a perioperative director she understood little about SPD beyond instrument cleaning.
“I would be very transparent to say that outside of understanding that that was a department that cleaned surgical instrumentation”
Bred To Lead: Bonus: The Next Revolution in Surgery Is Happening Outside the OR (Oct 23, 2026) · Listen from 8:05
Perioperative nursing
Gilliam argues that many problems blamed on SPD, such as bioburden and missing instruments, actually begin in the OR.
“But at the end of the day, when you really look at the relationship, a lot of it begins in the OR”
Bred To Lead: Bonus: The Next Revolution in Surgery Is Happening Outside the OR (Oct 23, 2026) · Listen from 49:39
Professional certification versus competency verification
Gilliam recounts that the assessment results were eye-opening for long-tenured staff, who initially rejected the test before coming on board.
“To people that have been doing this muscle memory every day for many, many years, it was eye-opening”
Bred To Lead: Bonus: The Next Revolution in Surgery Is Happening Outside the OR (Oct 23, 2026) · Listen from 35:55
Artificial intelligence
Gilliam says she was impressed that the assessment used AI-scored open-ended questions rather than only multiple choice.
“What impressed me about the test was the open-ended question. And it used AI to really kind of hone in”
Bred To Lead: Bonus: The Next Revolution in Surgery Is Happening Outside the OR (Oct 23, 2026) · Listen from 34:45
The Joint Commission
Gilliam says the new Joint Commission process involves surveyors speaking directly with staff, including employees with under a year of tenure.
“in the new Joint Commission process, they are going to want to speak to your staff”
Bred To Lead: Bonus: The Next Revolution in Surgery Is Happening Outside the OR (Oct 23, 2026) · Listen from 13:13
Appearances
Bonus: The Next Revolution in Surgery Is Happening Outside the ORBred To Lead · Oct 23, 2026 · 1 h 6 min
At a live conference session, Jake Tayler Jacobs and Edna Gilliam argue that sterile processing needs verified workforce development, not just certification or temporary staffing.
Often appears with
- Jake Tayler Jacobs · 1 shared episode