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