The Ultimate Guide to the Surgical Tech / Technologist Career

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Becoming a surgical technologist allows you to work with patients in an operating room, but with less medical responsibility and training. You’ll essentially serve as an extra set of hands and eyes in the surgical room, allowing doctors and nurses to concentrate more closely on the specific tasks at hand. This is a great way to get started rather quickly in a health-related career, rather than going through school and participating in internships for over an decade to become a doctor.

Job Duties

As a surgical tech, your job duties will depend on the needs of your healthcare facility and your specific job title. Essentially, though, your job is to ensure that conditions are optimal for surgery and that they remain optimal throughout the procedure. Some of your specific job duties may include:

Sterilizing equipment, tools, etc. before the operation starts
Checking patient charts, consent forms, and other paperwork
Performing counts before an incision is closed to ensure that nothing foreign is left behind
Draping a sterile field and preparing the skin
Dressing the wound when the surgery is complete
Keeping a record of what happens during surgery
Ensuring that samples are collected correctly if necessary
Helping to position the patient
Handing tools to the surgeon during the operation
Holding retractors, sponges, suction instruments, or other tools as directed by the surgeon
Cleaning the room to prepare for the next patient

At a larger facility, you may have a single specific task, such as sterilizing a room before patients enter. Smaller facilities have surgical techs perform in more comprehensive roles, assisting with a patient’s care from start to finish.

Characteristics

To be successful as a surgical tech, it helps to have the following characteristics:

Attention to detail
Empathizing with patients
Ability to foresee and predict a surgeon’s needs
Ability to stay calm under pressure

While you may not be the person holding the knife, the job of a surgical tech is extremely important. Without a surgical tech who performs his or her job well patients can get infections, infectious diseases can be passed on to hospital staff or other patients, sponges and other items can get left behind inside a patients, surgeons can make mistakes because they are trying to do too many tasks at once, and patient samples can be contaminated, providing insufficient and inconclusive results.

Training and Certification

Most employers prefer that you have at least an associate’s degree before you start working as a surgical tech. There are also diploma programs available to students who what to go through shorter programs. You must attend an accredited program to be eligible for certification through the National Board of Surgical Technology and Surgical Assisting, which is required to work in this field. Additionally, you can participate in more classes to improve your skills and become a first surgical assistant, which is the highest level of work you can do in the operating room.

Work Environment

As a surgical tech, you aren’t just limited to working in a hospital environment. Surgical tech as also needed in dentists’ offices, morgues with organ donation facilities, veterinary hospitals, military bases in combat zones, and private care facilities. According to the Mayo Clinic, you can expect to earn $34,410 to $54,204 in this field

Online Surgical Technician Degree Programs

Ultimate Medical Academy ABHES	Programs Available: AS in Health Sciences - Healthcare Technology & Systems AS in Health Sciences - Medical Administrative Assistant AS in Health Sciences - Pharmacy Technician AS in Medical Billing & Coding Click Here
Purdue University NCA	Programs Available: Certificate in Medical Office Administration Click Here
Rasmussen College NCA	Programs Available: AS in Surgical Technologist Click Here
ECPI University SACS	Programs Available: AS in Surgical Technology Click Here
Miller-Motte Technical College ACICS	Programs Available: AAS in Surgical Technology Click Here
Southern Technical College ACICS	Programs Available: AS in Surgical Technician Click Here
Stevens-Henager College ACCSC	Programs Available: AS in Surgical Technologist Click Here
Harris School of Business ACICS	Programs Available: Certificate in Surgical Technology Click Here