Career Exploration Project: Surgical Technician
Surgical technologists, aka surgical techs, assist in surgical operations alongside the surgeon, surgical nurses, and other assistants. Surgical techs help in the operating room by setting up equipment, assisting surgeons during the operations, counting supplies before a surgery, sterilizing tools and instruments used in operation, and maintaining a clean environment. Surgical techs also prepare patients for surgery by washing and cleaning the incision site and sometimes transporting the patients to and from the operating room. According to the Occupational Outlook Handbook, surgical technologists experience hands-on rolls helping surgeons during procedures. To be a great surgical tech, one must be
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I’m able to organize and memorize things in an order that I can quickly and swiftly reach the tools and instruments as the surgeon asks for one during the operation. I will have to be focused and diligent during the operations in my ability to listen and follow directions. In this career, my compassion and good people skills will come in handy in helping others around me whether they are the patients, relatives of the patient, or my coworkers. Advantages to this career would be helping ill people get another chance at a longer life, working with some of the best surgeons in the state, getting to participate in procedures, and learning to better my career. Disadvantages include getting too emotionally attached to patients and their families, having to break bad news to patients and loved ones of the patient, and not being able to save every person on the operating table. The average annual salary of a surgical technologist in May 2016 was $46,160. The lowest 10 percent earned less than $31,720 and the highest 10 percent earned more than $64,800. This field of work is
Surgical technologists, or operating room technicians, assist in surgical operations. They prepare operating rooms, arrange equipment, and help doctors during surgeries. Some of the main tasks of a surgical tech include: preparing patients for surgery, maintain surgical instruments and specimens, preparing the O.R, sterilizing surgical equipment and counting supplies to make sure nothing is left in the patient. Other tasks involve helping surgeons put on gloves and gowns, placing instruments and other supplies on sterile tables and stands, they also clean the O.R. after the surgery concludes.
Becoming a surgical technologist require a lot of dedication and tolerance, whether it's standing on your feet for hours or just simply preparing a patient for surgery. A surgical technologist is a person who helps to prepare an operating room by setting up sterile surgical instruments, equipment and supplies, such as drapes, gowns, gloves, suction tubing, and receiving solutions and medications from a circulator (jeff.org) Surgical technologist also ensure all technology used in the operating room is working properly. Although all of these jobs are very important, the most important job would be assisting the surgeon during their surgeries. Surgeries could last up to eight hours, (explorehealthcareers.org). That's
Healthcare and healthcare planning are vital in today’s ever-changing world, without education and experience one cannot help patients or make policy changes that benefit all stakeholders. In addition, many people do not understand the ever-changing medical policies and treatment options that are available. Therefore, I am compelled to use my knowledge and education to coordinate healthcare needs of the people in my community. Whether this is managing outpatient care, inpatient care needs or healthcare resources. Therefore, the Marylhurst Healthcare MBA program and all three concentrations will enable me to obtain the skills I need to succeed.
This paper will explore the role of the surgical technologist as the first scrub. It will discuss the education and training needed for this profession. Furthermore, the paper will look at the career advancement and opportunities to specialize that the surgical technologist can explore with more schooling and experience. There are different work environments available for this occupation and I will mention a few of them. Equally as important, I will examine some of the different surgical specialties and give examples of operating procedures that the surgical technologist will use to help the surgical team perform the operations. I was able to find the information contained in this paper using two publications found on the Internet
You are responsible for making sure the operating room is set up the way the surgeon likes and needs it to be. You are also responsible for making sure that all the tools, operating table, and every inch of the room is cleaned and sterilized. Surgical technicians are the ones who keep track of “lap pads” or laparotomy pads used during surgery to soak up excess fluid in the patient. So, everything must be accounted for before, during and after surgery. They are also the people who hand the surgeons the tools they call out. With all responsibility, you have to know how to think for yourself if something were to happen and the surgeon takes a second to think during a tricky or time consuming surgery. For example, if a lap pad were to go missing, the surgical technician will be the one who is asked about it, and needed to recall the location of pad. Or the surgical technician has to make sure enough tools are at hand in the operating room readily available in case the team happens to run out. The job is very simple. Clean and move the room according to surgery and surgeon, keep track of everything, and hand the right tools when called out quickly. Seems simple. Which is why there is more than one surgical technician in the operating room. Natalie explained that she is ready and looking forward to the high stress environment that comes along with the job.
I have always believed that my success is defined by my happiness. This paper will discuss my personal goals as they apply to my education and career choice of Surgical Technician, as well as some of my strengths and weaknesses that will contribute to my success.
Second step is to take and pass the certification exam offered by the National Board of Surgical Technology and Surgical Assisting, which qualifies you as a Certified Surgical Technologist or CST.
He or she maintains the operating room, sterilizes equipment, and prepares patients for their procedures. A surgical technologist, who may also be called a surgical or operating room technician or a scrub tech, sterilizes equipment and hands surgeon’s instruments upon their request.” (Dawn Rosenberg McKay). But before even considering becoming a surgical technologist, one must have nerves of steel, must be reliable/ dedicated, and must be able to adapt to any environment they encounter as a surgical technologist.
Surgical Technologists have an important role in the operation room (OR). There are different positions within the Surgical Technology field, including Scrub Surgical Technologist, Circulating Surgical Technologist, and Second Assisting Technologist. Scrub Surgical Technologists have a number of tasks, including prepping the patient for surgery, sterilizing the OR, gown and glove surgeons and assistants, and assists the surgeon and other surgical team members in a number of ways, such as passing instruments and dressing wounds. Circulating Surgical Technologists have a number of tasks as well, including checking patient’s charts, identifying patient and verifying the surgery that will be performed with consent forms, assisting anesthesia
I have observed how Radiologic technologist comfort patients and provide their support at a time where the patient is overwhelmed and anxious about what the results will show. For example, we had a young kid come into the Emergency Department with his parents complaining of severe abdominal pain. The doctor had ordered a CT scan and I accompanied the patient and his parents to the CT scan room. The kid and parents were terrified to get the scan, as they were unsure what to expect. A Radiologic technician explained the process and risk/benefits of the scan to them very clearly and in a consolable manner. He answered all questions that the parents or the child had and put their minds at ease. I envision myself being in the shoes of the technician directly contributing to society. I inspire to be in a field that allows me to assist and console people when they are at a rough point in their
STI’s surgical technology program is also a two year program, but upon completion they can make around $44,324 annually. They would be placed in the same places as an invasive cardiovascular employee, but their duties would differ substantially. As a surgical technician you would play a vital role in the operating room’s team and would work side by side with surgeons, nurses, and anesthesiologists. You would give direct patient care to the patient before, during, and following their surgery. You would also assist in handling equipment and supplies during surgery. They differ from surgeons because they don’t actually perform any surgery, just basic care to the
The career I chose was surgical tech , and I chose surgical tech because I want to be able to experience surgery , and see what it’s like , and also I would like to know how the job is done and I want to know what happens inside the operation room . I want to help people get better and feel better I also want to set my mind to being a surgical tech because it’s something I have always wanted to do , surgical techs seems to be a great thing to do cause they make lots of money , and you also have to know what tools the doctor needs what hand they use to operate with right / left . they also make sure that the equipments that the surgeon uses is correct and working properly , before an surgical tech is able to do a surgery they start with something small as they take steps and do smaller things while the learn, most experienced surgical techs are used for open heart surgery , and other high risk surgeries ,the main job
One might think of surgery as simple as going to the hospital and receiving a complex operation that saves ones life or improves their quality of life. What most people do not realize is the hardships that those people go through unless they had surgery performed on them themselves, and same thing for the surgeons it is not easy for them as well, even though they are professional and highly trained.
The term, “surgical attire” refers to scrub suits, caps/hoods, shoe covers, masks, gloves, and gowns. Experiments have demonstrated that live microorganisms are shed from the exposed skin, hair, and mucous membranes of the operating room personnel.3,67,68 yet, very few controlled clinical studies have evaluated the relationship between the use of surgical attire and SSIs risk. Though no conclusions have been derived, it seems quite prudent that, usage of surgical attire reduces the exposure of the patient to microorganisms and exfoliative material from the operating room personnel and as well to protect surgical team members from exposure to blood,
Technologists assist the radiologist during specific procedures and lastly and most importantly they assist the patients while in his or her care because the patient is the most important person in the hospital.