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Surgical Technologists

  • Bright Outlook
  • Rapid Growth

Assist in operations, under the supervision of surgeons, registered nurses, or other surgical personnel. May help set up operating room, prepare and transport patients for surgery, adjust lights and equipment, pass instruments and other supplies to surgeons and surgeons' assistants, hold retractors, cut sutures, and help count sponges, needles, supplies, and instruments.

What you’d do

  • Maintain a proper sterile field during surgical procedures.
  • Count sponges, needles, and instruments before and after operation.
  • Hand instruments and supplies to surgeons and surgeons' assistants, hold retractors and cut sutures, and perform other tasks as directed by surgeon during operation.
  • Scrub arms and hands and assist the surgical team to scrub and put on gloves, masks, and surgical clothing.
  • Wash and sterilize equipment, using germicides and sterilizers.
  • Prepare patients for surgery, including positioning patients on the operating table and covering them with sterile surgical drapes to prevent exposure.
  • Prepare, care for, and dispose of tissue specimens taken for laboratory analysis.
  • Monitor and continually assess operating room conditions, including patient and surgical team needs.

Skills that matter

  • Monitoring
  • Active Listening
  • Operations Monitoring
  • Reading Comprehension
  • Service Orientation
  • Speaking

How to get there

Medium preparation: usually vocational school, related on-the-job experience, or an associate's degree

Also called

  • CST (Certified Surgical Technologist)
  • OR Surgical Tech (Operating Room Surgical Technician)
  • OR Technologist (Operating Room Technologist)
  • Surgical Scrub Technologist (Surgical Scrub Tech)
  • Central Supply Technician (Central Supply Tech)
  • Certified Scrub Technician (Certified Scrub Tech)

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