Will “First Assistant” be Replaced By Robots? 🤔
Unknown Chance of Automation
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Job Description
Assist surgeons during surgery by performing duties such as tissue retraction, insertion of tubes and intravenous lines, or closure of surgical wounds. Perform preoperative and postoperative duties to facilitate patient care.
Job Details
- The SOC (Standard Occupational Classification) code is 29-2099.07
☝️ Information based on the reference occupation “Surgical Assistants”.
Also Known As…
- Surgical Assistants
- Surgical Technician (Surgical Tech)
- Surgical Scrub Technician (Surgical Scrub Tech)
- Surgical First Assistant
- Registered Nurse First Assistant (RNFA)
- Gastrointestinal Technician (GI Technician)
- Certified Surgical Technician
- Certified Surgical First Assistant (CSFA)
- Certified Surgical Assistant (CSA)
- Certified Registered Nurse First Assistant (CRNFA)
- Certified First Assistant (CFA)
- Surgical Services Assistant
- Surgical Assistant-Certified (SA-C)
- Surgical Assistant
- Surgery Technician
- Operating Room Technician
- Operating Room Assistant
- Assistant-at-Surgery
Tasks for “First Assistant”
- Cover patients with surgical drapes to create and maintain a sterile operative field.
- Pass instruments or supplies to surgeon during procedure.
- Discuss with surgeon the nature of the surgical procedure, including operative consent, methods of operative exposure, diagnostic or laboratory data, or patient-advanced directives or other needs.
- Obtain or inspect sterile or non-sterile surgical equipment, instruments, or supplies.
- Assess skin integrity or other body conditions upon completion of the procedure to determine if damage has occurred from body positioning.
- Monitor and maintain aseptic technique throughout procedures.
- Apply sutures, staples, clips, or other materials to close skin, facia, or subcutaneous wound layers.
- Coordinate with anesthesia personnel to maintain patient temperature.
- Remove patient hair or disinfect incision sites to prepare patient for surgery.
- Insert or remove urinary bladder catheters.
- Clamp, ligate, or cauterize blood vessels to control bleeding during surgical entry, using hemostatic clamps, suture ligatures, or electrocautery equipment.
- Incise tissue layers in lower extremities to harvest veins.
- Determine availability of necessary equipment or supplies for operative procedures.
- Transport patients to operating room.
- Maintain an unobstructed operative field, using surgical retractors, sponges, or suctioning and irrigating equipment.
- Adjust and maintain operating room temperature, humidity, or lighting, according to surgeon's specifications.
- Postoperatively inject a subcutaneous local anesthetic agent to reduce pain.
- Assist in applying casts, splints, braces, or similar devices.
- Assist in the insertion, positioning, or suturing of closed-wound drainage systems.
- Operate sterilizing devices.
- Assist with patient resuscitation during cardiac arrest or other life-threatening events.
- Gather, arrange, or assemble instruments or supplies.
- Prepare and apply sterile wound dressings.
- Monitor patient intra-operative status, including patient position, vital signs, or volume and color of blood.
- Coordinate or participate in the positioning of patients, using body stabilizing equipment or protective padding to provide appropriate exposure for the procedure or to protect against nerve damage or circulation impairment.
- Assist in volume replacement or autotransfusion techniques.
- Verify the identity of patient or operative site.
- Assist members of surgical team with gowning or gloving.
Related Technology & Tools
- Surgical protective goggles
- Cast cutting saws
- Wound drains
- Powered surgical drills
- Patient positioning devices
- Blanket warmer cabinets
- Surgical dermatomes
- Personal computers
- Fluid warmers
- Medical staple kits
- Medical image processing printers
- Cauterizing equipment
- Laptop computers
- Surgical robots
- Blood warming equipment
- Vascular clamps
- Suture kits
- Cell savers
- Angiocaths
- Desktop computers
- Neodymium-doped Yttrium Aluminum Garnet Nd:YAG lasers
- Fiberoptic endoscopes
- Subcutaneous injection syringes
- Body stabilizers
- Telethermometers
- Eye magnets
- Automated external defibrillators AED
- Mayo stands
- Endoscopic camera/video systems
- Surgical razors
- Sterile gowns
- Sterile drapes
- Hypothermia units
- Suction machines
- Pneumatic tourniquets
- Urinary catheters
- Anesthesia carts
- Flash sterilizers
- Laparoscopes
- Argon beam coagulators
- Surgical clamps
- Surgical trocars
- Ethylene Oxide sterilizers
- Specimen collection containers
- Surgical scalpels
- Pagers
- Heart pacemakers
- Surgical masks
- Surgical gloves
- Head stabilizers
- Surgical fracture tables
- Patient transport stretchers
- Nerve stimulators
- Hospital intercom equipment
- Intravenous IV sets
- Carbon dioxide CO2 lasers
- Cardiac monitoring equipment
- Multi-line telephone systems
- C-arm tables
- Hemostat clamps
- Pressure steam autoclaves
- Eye lasers
- Surgical retractors
- Surgery workflow communication software
- Patient scheduling software
- Microsoft Excel
- Electronic medical record EMR software
- MEDITECH software
- Supply documentation software
- Patient tracking software
- Nursing documentation software