Most Important Things You Will Learn in a Surgical Technologist Program

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Surgical technologist programs are geared toward expedient learning and fast and furious techniques. There are however, a few major points that should be made in the program, so that excellent surgical tech will never forget these during his or her career in the operating room arena.

Sterile Technique

One of the most important things you will learn from a surgical technologist program is how to properly handle medical and surgical instruments. Knowing what instruments to pass to the surgeon, their proper use, and proper sterilization techniques are all critical to your role as a surgical tech.

Time Management

When doing clinical education, unless there is an exceptional mentor for the student who can teach this practice, time management is often learned by the seat of one’s pants. Making the best of a 3-minute break often includes a quick trip to the bathroom for personal reasons. Choking down a sandwich may also be something that needs to be done in a very short amount of time. If planned well, a day need not be unmanageable and frustrating. Even though emergencies do happen, with support staff and a keen eye for troubleshooting, the day can run quite smoothly.

Being aware of schedule changes, one-of-a-kind items that may need to be autoclaved, strategic phone calls to sales reps who can help nip a problem in the bud are some ways to manage time. These foresights can all be ways to expedite surgeries, so surgeons aren’t delayed and the patient still gets good care.

Self Care

There are a few things in this category that should not go unaddressed. Although most surgical technologist program instructors are somewhat stern and discipline oriented, there should be some time put aside to teach fledgling surgical techs how to take care of themselves. Here is a small list of things in any good surgical tech’s survival locker.

•Good shoes that fit well
•Support Hose (not the cheap ones)
•Campbell’s Soup and Crackers hidden away in the locker
•Favorite candy
•A favorite devotional or piece of spiritual literature
•Pictures of loved ones
•Toothbrush/Toothpaste
•Clean socks and underwear (emergencies)
•Ibuprophen/Tylenol

Some of these items can totally change the way a day ends.

When trying to get through a surgical technologist program, one is so concentrated on packing in the information to the brain; it can be a bit overwhelming. For a surgical technologist student, these will be actions that should be studied and practiced in the beginning; so good habits are maintained throughout his or her career.

Counts

Probably one of the most important duties of the surgical tech is to make sure that nothing gets left inside the patient. In every medical facility there is a protocol that is followed, and standards of care are documented by AORN (Association of Operating Room Nurses) and AST (Association of Surgical Technologists). These standards must be followed with extreme caution in order to keep costs and patient morbidity to a minimum.

Pay Attention

Economy of motion makes the best surgical tech. If in the beginning, a surgical tech student can learn to do simple mayo setups and keep everything very organized, watching the surgery will be much easier. It is imperative for the tech to keep an eye on what the surgeon is doing, so the next instrument can be anticipated. Surgeons love it when they don’t have to ask for the next instrument.

Humility

Being a “know it all” in the operating room will win you no friends. The best approach is to be humble, ask for help and don’t get cocky. This helps with liability issues and keeps the patient safe.