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50 original questions across all seven domains. Answer them all, then sign in free to unlock your score, your report by domain, and where to study next.
CRCST exam preparation
Get Your CRCST Certification, One Focused Study Session At A Time
Work through a guided concept, learn from clear feedback, and put the idea into practice. Build toward deeper training across the seven CRCST exam domains.
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Guided lessons
The hardest CRCST topics, one 15-minute lesson each: two short reads, each followed by mixed-format questions. Pick one of the first 4 to start.
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Visual glossary
Explore terms through interactive concept activities. Browse at your own pace.
Explore the glossaryStart free. Go further with Full Access.
Explore free lessons and take a practice test. When you’re ready for the full question bank, timed mocks, and spaced review, choose monthly access or the 6-month pass.
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Start learning and see where you stand before choosing Full Access.
Your free plan includes
- Guided lessons 1 to 20 with interactive activities
- The visual glossary to explore CRCST terms
- One 50-question practice test across all seven domains
- Your practice-test score, domain report, and next study step
- Full question bank, timed mocks, and spaced review require Full Access.
The glossary and lessons 1 to 4 need no account. Sign in free to unlock lessons 5 to 20 and your practice-test report.
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Monthly Full Access
$12per monthRegular price $29Sale
$12/month · regular price $29 · renews monthly · cancel anytime
Your Full Access includes
- The full original question bank with plain-English explanations
- Spaced review for missed answers and correct guesses
- Every guided lesson and 16 focused concepts, with interactive activities
- Unlimited 150-question mock exams, timed like the real thing
- Per-domain readiness dashboard with a study-next recommendation
- No pass-or-refund guarantee.
Renews monthly until canceled. Cancel from Account before the next renewal; access continues through the paid billing period. The pass-or-refund guarantee is not included.
Includes the guarantee
6-month Full Access Pass
$49one-time
$49 one-time · 6 months of access · no auto-renewal
Your Full Access includes
- The full original question bank with plain-English explanations
- Spaced review for missed answers and correct guesses
- Every guided lesson and 16 focused concepts, with interactive activities
- Unlimited 150-question mock exams, timed like the real thing
- Per-domain readiness dashboard with a study-next recommendation
- Pass the CRCST or get a full refund.
Guarantee conditions: Take the exam within 6 months of purchase and complete one full 150-question mock beforehand.
Paid plans use secure checkout by Stripe. Prices in USD.
The $49 pass includes our pass-or-refund guarantee.
Monthly subscriptions are not covered. For the 6-month pass:
For the $49 Full Access Pass: fail the CRCST exam and receive a full refund when you take the exam within 6 months of purchase and, before that exam attempt, complete at least one FULL 150-question mock exam. Monthly subscriptions are not covered.
See how claims are paidOur teaching approach is backed by science.
Most exam prep hands you a pile of questions and wishes you luck. CRCST Academy is built on four study methods that memory researchers have tested for decades. Each study is linked below, so you can read it yourself. The research tested the methods, not this course.
Method 01
Answer first, then see why
Re-reading feels like studying, but it fades fast. Here, nothing is revealed until you commit to an answer. Then you see why the right one is right — and why the tempting one is wrong. That effort is what makes it stick.
Explore the research behind: Answer first, then see why
In a review of 50 classroom experiments, testing yourself improved learning in most of them. And feedback research is clear: an explanation teaches; a red X does not.
Method 02
What you miss comes back until you own it
Cramming works for tomorrow's quiz, not for exam day. Miss a question here and its concept joins your review queue, then returns days later — usually as a different question, so you learn the idea instead of memorizing the answer key.
Explore the research behind: What you miss comes back until you own it
Spacing study out beats cramming it together — one of the most repeated results in memory research, across hundreds of experiments.
Method 03
A lucky guess doesn't count as knowing it
A concept leaves your review queue only after you answer it correctly on two separate days. Anyone can repeat an answer they just read. Exam day asks for more, so the queue does too.
Explore the research behind: A lucky guess doesn't count as knowing it
Mastery learning — requiring proof before moving on — improved results across a meta-analysis of 36 studies.
Method 04
Always know what to study next
Stop guessing where tonight's hour should go. Your dashboard compares your recent answers across all seven domains, names the relatively lowest-scoring one, and starts a targeted round in one click.
Explore the research behind: Always know what to study next
Systems that adapt to a learner's weak spots produced substantial gains in a meta-analysis of intelligent tutoring research.
50 questions, graded across all seven domains. No card required.
Free guided lessons
Understand the topic. Put it into practice.
Build your knowledge with guided lessons based on topics in the 9th edition Sterile Processing Technical Manual. Short reads, interactive questions, and clear feedback help you work through the ideas, one step at a time.
Pick a lesson below. No account or card needed to start.
Lesson 01 · Departmental Considerations
Introduction to sterile processing: the department, the cycle and the job
Sterile processing is not washing and wrapping. Devices move one way around a cycle, and every step guards the patient.
About 16 min · 18 questions
Start lesson: Introduction to sterile processing: the department, the cycle and the job
Lesson 02 · Professional Development and Human Relation Skills
Medical terminology: how prefixes, roots and suffixes build a word
Medical words are not random. They are built from parts, such as a prefix, a root and a suffix, that you can read.
About 16 min · 16 questions
Start lesson: Medical terminology: how prefixes, roots and suffixes build a word
Lesson 03 · Professional Development and Human Relation Skills
Procedure names, abbreviations and the surgery schedule
A procedure name is more than a label. Its ending says what the surgeon will do, and its front often says how.
About 16 min · 18 questions
Start lesson: Procedure names, abbreviations and the surgery schedule
Lesson 04 · Professional Development and Human Relation Skills
Anatomy basics: cells, tissues, organs and the body systems
The body is not a list of parts to memorize. Cells build tissues, tissues build organs, and organs work as systems.
About 16 min · 16 questions
Start lesson: Anatomy basics: cells, tissues, organs and the body systemsBrowse all guided lessons
Lessons 1 to 4 need no account. Lessons 5 to 20 are free with an account. Lessons 21 and up are part of Full Access.
Honest answers about the CRCST exam
The exam facts below come from HSPA's public information — always confirm current details at myhspa.org.
How much does the CRCST exam cost?
The exam fee is $140, paid to HSPA rather than CRCST Academy. Confirm the current fee and application details at myhspa.org.
How many questions are on the exam, and how long is it?
The CRCST exam has 150 questions and a 3-hour time limit, with in-person delivery at Prometric. Confirm current scheduling and delivery details at myhspa.org.
What is the retake wait?
A waiting period applies before another exam attempt. HSPA controls the current retake timing and requirements, so check myhspa.org before applying again.
What is the 400-hour rule?
The CRCST process includes a 400-hour hands-on experience rule. CRCST Academy does not arrange hands-on hours or externships; check current eligibility, documentation, and timing details at myhspa.org.
What does CRCST Academy handle?
CRCST Academy provides exam preparation only. It does not administer the exam, issue certification, arrange hands-on hours, provide an externship, or guarantee employment. HSPA provides current eligibility, application, certification, scheduling, retake, and hands-on-hour details at myhspa.org.
Will these be the same questions I see on the CRCST exam?
No. CRCST Academy uses original practice questions—not actual, recalled, or leaked HSPA exam questions. The goal is to learn the underlying concepts, use each explanation, and reason through unfamiliar wording on exam day. Use CRCST Academy alongside official HSPA information at myhspa.org. CRCST Academy provides independent exam preparation only.
What does Full Access include?
$12/month (regular price $29) or $49 once for 6 months. Both plans include: The full original question bank with plain-English explanations; Spaced review for missed answers and correct guesses; Every guided lesson and 16 focused concepts, with interactive activities; Unlimited 150-question mock exams, timed like the real thing; Per-domain readiness dashboard with a study-next recommendation. For the $49 Full Access Pass: fail the CRCST exam and receive a full refund when you take the exam within 6 months of purchase and, before that exam attempt, complete at least one FULL 150-question mock exam. Monthly subscriptions are not covered.
Plan your path to certification
Browse all guidesComing soon
Your study plan, ready when you are.
Native iPhone and Android apps are on the way — bringing your readiness dashboard, targeted practice, review queue, and mock exams to the moments between shifts.
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In the meantime, CRCST Academy works on any phone through your web browser.
Your next study session
Start with one lesson today.
Choose a topic, work through a short read, and put it into practice. Build your CRCST knowledge one focused session at a time.