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