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