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”
- Postoperatively inject a subcutaneous local anesthetic agent to reduce pain.
- Insert or remove urinary bladder catheters.
- Assess skin integrity or other body conditions upon completion of the procedure to determine if damage has occurred from body positioning.
- Coordinate with anesthesia personnel to maintain patient temperature.
- Obtain or inspect sterile or non-sterile surgical equipment, instruments, or supplies.
- Monitor patient intra-operative status, including patient position, vital signs, or volume and color of blood.
- 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.
- Verify the identity of patient or operative site.
- Assist in volume replacement or autotransfusion techniques.
- Assist in applying casts, splints, braces, or similar devices.
- Monitor and maintain aseptic technique throughout procedures.
- Adjust and maintain operating room temperature, humidity, or lighting, according to surgeon's specifications.
- Apply sutures, staples, clips, or other materials to close skin, facia, or subcutaneous wound layers.
- Operate sterilizing devices.
- Pass instruments or supplies to surgeon during procedure.
- Maintain an unobstructed operative field, using surgical retractors, sponges, or suctioning and irrigating equipment.
- Assist with patient resuscitation during cardiac arrest or other life-threatening events.
- Transport patients to operating room.
- Remove patient hair or disinfect incision sites to prepare patient for surgery.
- Assist members of surgical team with gowning or gloving.
- Assist in the insertion, positioning, or suturing of closed-wound drainage systems.
- Gather, arrange, or assemble instruments or supplies.
- Cover patients with surgical drapes to create and maintain a sterile operative field.
- Determine availability of necessary equipment or supplies for operative procedures.
- 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.
- Incise tissue layers in lower extremities to harvest veins.
- Clamp, ligate, or cauterize blood vessels to control bleeding during surgical entry, using hemostatic clamps, suture ligatures, or electrocautery equipment.
- Prepare and apply sterile wound dressings.
Related Technology & Tools
- Eye lasers
- Anesthesia carts
- Surgical clamps
- Surgical dermatomes
- Body stabilizers
- Surgical trocars
- Urinary catheters
- Neodymium-doped Yttrium Aluminum Garnet Nd:YAG lasers
- Argon beam coagulators
- Suture kits
- Automated external defibrillators AED
- Pressure steam autoclaves
- Subcutaneous injection syringes
- Hypothermia units
- Patient transport stretchers
- Specimen collection containers
- Fluid warmers
- Ethylene Oxide sterilizers
- Mayo stands
- Multi-line telephone systems
- Personal computers
- Fiberoptic endoscopes
- Sterile gowns
- Nerve stimulators
- Sterile drapes
- Wound drains
- Surgical masks
- Desktop computers
- Endoscopic camera/video systems
- Flash sterilizers
- Hemostat clamps
- Suction machines
- Patient positioning devices
- Vascular clamps
- Surgical robots
- Pneumatic tourniquets
- Medical image processing printers
- Blood warming equipment
- Carbon dioxide CO2 lasers
- Surgical razors
- Surgical protective goggles
- Blanket warmer cabinets
- Cardiac monitoring equipment
- C-arm tables
- Cauterizing equipment
- Surgical fracture tables
- Cell savers
- Head stabilizers
- Angiocaths
- Heart pacemakers
- Surgical retractors
- Powered surgical drills
- Eye magnets
- Pagers
- Laparoscopes
- Surgical gloves
- Cast cutting saws
- Medical staple kits
- Hospital intercom equipment
- Intravenous IV sets
- Telethermometers
- Surgical scalpels
- Laptop computers
- Supply documentation software
- Electronic medical record EMR software
- Microsoft Excel
- Nursing documentation software
- Surgery workflow communication software
- Patient scheduling software
- Patient tracking software
- MEDITECH software