Surgical Tech

Assist in operations, under the supervision of surgeons, registered nurses, or other surgical personnel. May help set up operating room, prepare and transport patients for surgery, adjust lights and equipment, pass instruments and other supplies to surgeons and surgeons' assistants, hold retractors, cut sutures, and help count sponges, needles, supplies, and instruments.

O*NET reports this occupation under titles such as: Central Supply Technician (Central Supply Tech); Certified Scrub Technician (Certified Scrub Tech); CST (Certified Surgical Technologist); OR Surgical Tech (Operating Room Surgical Technician); OR Tech (Operating Room Technician); OR Technologist (Operating Room Technologist); Scrub Technician (Scrub Tech); Scrub Technologist (Scrub Tech); Surgical Scrub Technician (Surgical Scrub Tech); Surgical Scrub Technologist (Surgical Scrub Tech)

Tasks

• Maintain a proper sterile field during surgical procedures.
• Count sponges, needles, and instruments before and after operation.
• Hand instruments and supplies to surgeons and surgeons' assistants, hold retractors and cut sutures, and perform other tasks as directed by surgeon during operation.
• Scrub arms and hands and assist the surgical team to scrub and put on gloves, masks, and surgical clothing.
• Wash and sterilize equipment, using germicides and sterilizers.
• Prepare patients for surgery, including positioning patients on the operating table and covering them with sterile surgical drapes to prevent exposure.
• Prepare, care for, and dispose of tissue specimens taken for laboratory analysis.
• Monitor and continually assess operating room conditions, including patient and surgical team needs.
• Prepare dressings or bandages and apply or assist with their application following surgery.
• Clean and restock operating room, gathering and placing equipment and supplies and arranging instruments according to instructions, such as a preference card.
• Provide technical assistance to surgeons, surgical nurses, or anesthesiologists.
• Operate, assemble, adjust, or monitor sterilizers, lights, suction machines, or diagnostic equipment to ensure proper operation.
• Maintain supply of fluids, such as plasma, saline, blood, or glucose, for use during operations.

Knowledge

• Medicine and Dentistry
• English Language
• Customer and Personal Service
• Education and Training

Skills

• Monitoring
• Active Listening
• Reading Comprehension
• Speaking
• Critical Thinking
• Active Learning
• Learning Strategies

Abilities

• Oral Comprehension
• Near Vision
• Problem Sensitivity
• Arm-Hand Steadiness
• Speech Recognition
• Oral Expression
• Information Ordering
• Selective Attention
• Manual Dexterity
• Speech Clarity
• Deductive Reasoning
• Category Flexibility
• Number Facility
• Flexibility of Closure
• Perceptual Speed
• Far Vision
• Visual Color Discrimination
• Written Comprehension
• Written Expression
• Inductive Reasoning
• Memorization
• Visualization
• Finger Dexterity
• Control Precision
• Trunk Strength
• Auditory Attention