Fundamentals of Medical Device Packaging: In-Person Course Oct. 2022

If you’re new to packaging or medical device packaging, or you need to fill in gaps in your knowledge about medical device packaging, the Fundamentals of Medical Device Packaging course can get you up to speed on the essential knowledge around this complex segment of the packaging industry. The course is offered by the Institute of Packaging Professionals (IoPP) and was developed through IoPP’s Medical Device Packaging Technical Committee (MDPTC). The course will be held at McCormick Place during PACK EXPO International. 

Seating is limited, so register by August 30 to secure your spot! Register for the course at IoPP's site here. 

Supporting the next gen in medical device packaging 

As MDPTC chairperson Jennifer Benolken notes in a two-part series of blog posts, Sparking Interest for the Next Healthcare Packaging Leaders, when she entered the world of medical device manufacturing, she received a warm welcome from the engineers supporting sterile packaging operations and design functions. She had time to learn from senior engineers, she was allowed to not know things straight away, and gained autonomy slowly and naturally. Over time, she realized this career development path was no longer the norm, with new engineers not having the same access to on-site sterile packaging lines, senior packaging leaders' time, or updated training materials. 

"In 2017, I started socializing and validating the need for something 'more' with respect to ushering young professionals into the industry – technically and professionally," Benolken says. "It also occurred to me that there is nothing “sexy” about medical device packaging (when looking at it from a “just coming out of school” perspective)–we can’t go to the store and point out the packaging we designed and show our friends and family, but the catch is–once you realize that what we do contributes to saving people’s lives, it is near impossible to not fall in love with it, for what could be more rewarding than that?" 

As she explains in Part 2, she determined the best home for it was with the IoPP MDPTC. Moving from conversations in 2017 to working through technicalities with others in 2018 and early 2019, and course-building later that year with about 30-40 professionals volunteering, the course was ready for debut in Fall of 2020 at PACK EXPO in Chicago. "But we all know how that went! Now, after two years, the course is back on track for this upcoming Fall 2022 at PACK EXPO in Chicago. It is going to be affordable, it is going to be hands on, it is going to be driven by industry, and proceeds will be invested in inviting young packaging professionals into the medical device world," she adds.

Ready to register? Click here.

In-person course details

This course consists of three half-day sessions, 13.5 hours total, and occurs at PACK EXPO in Chicago. The curriculum includes classroom instruction and discussions/demonstrations of various machinery used to create medical device packaging at participating exhibitors’ booths on the show floor.

Learn about materials used for sterile barrier packaging; designing sterile barrier systems; manufacturing packaging for sterile medical devices; qualifying equipment and validating processes—crash course; sterilization of medical devices for packaging engineers; regulations, standards and quality systems for medical device packaging; risk analysis and design assurance; and CAPA, troubleshooting and remediation strategies. The course must be taken in its entirety; single-day registrations are not available.

• Get a detailed semester breakdown
• Check in-person dates and locations
• See pricing information.

IoPP/MDPTC’s Fundamentals of Medical Device Packaging course is for anyone who needs to know more about packaging materials and their properties, and other basics of packaging, as they pertain to medical devices. Fundamentals of Medical Device Packaging delivers information reviewed by medical device packaging subject matter experts in the most effective ways possible:

• The class is informal to encourage discussion and plenty of interaction with instructors.
• The class allows you to view and discuss actual samples of packages.
• Instructors provide multimedia presentations and videos to illustrate the latest packaging materials, containers, components, techniques and advancements.
• Demonstrations/discussions with machinery exhibitors at PACK EXPO allow active participation and Q&A.
• A complete set of slides, provided in PDF form, serve as a handy reference tool to bring back to your desk.

Who should attend?

• Anyone who is new to medical device packaging and needs a broad introduction.
• A manager who needs a wider view of medical device packaging.
• A sales rep who wants to expand your background and learn the language of medical device packaging.
• An engineer or technician with part-time responsibility in packaging.
• A packaging professional changing your focus who needs to come “up to speed” in a new area of packaging.
• A purchasing professional who needs more technical depth.
• A student or professional preparing for IoPP certification.

This course is for technical, non-technical and management personnel. Material is discussed in-depth with easy-to-understand explanations.

 Register here by August 30.

Instructors who are professionals

Fundamentals of Medical Device Packaging is taught by a team of packaging professionals vetted and selected by IoPP’s MDPTC. 

CPE credit

Completing the Fundamentals of Medical Device Packaging course earns you 11 Continuing Professional Education (CPE) credit points. These can be applied toward the requirements for IoPP’s Certified Packaging Professional (CPP) program.