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