Overview of Surgical Technician Job Duties

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The operating room is one of the most elusive locations on the planet. Few people know what really goes on in there, or about the team members who perform the skills it might take to remove one’s gallbladder or perform a facelift.

Within the operating room suite, there is a common individual known as a surgical technician, who is one of the most instrumental members of every surgical team.

First Things First

Surgical technicians arrive early for their shift with purpose in mind. Once the schedule has been scrutinized for changes or cancellations, the surgical technician will make a plan for the day. Gathering supplies for surgeries for the entire day is a usual task for the surgical tech. This is important because most techs know the doctors they are working with and they know the doctor’s particular desires and preferences.

Instruments will be gathered and made available on case carts, along with other supplies like blades, sutures, drains, special implants or other needs. With many surgeries being done with the laparoscopic, these types of surgeries demand many more supplies like insufflation tubing, staples, special clips and special laparoscopic instruments. All of these items must be identified and made ready for successful surgeries.

Theoretically

Theoretically, people in most medical professions have a stringent delineation of duties to perform, and rarely go outside those perimeters. A surgical technician is outside that box. They are individuals with many skills and job requirements. They may play every role from janitor to physician’s assistant, and sometimes computer expert. Surgical technicians help to position patients, do safety management and run for extra supplies when the nurse in the room is busy doing patient care.

Instrumentation

Instrumentation is only one of the aspects of being a surgical technician, but the area of instrumentation is excessively demanding. Surgical techs are often in charge of decontaminating their own instruments and processing them through the entire sterilization process. They must have a full knowledge of every type of autoclave and sterilization device and process used in their own department and possibly others like cath labs and labor and delivery. They may be called all over the hospital to perform their duties and they must be very flexible in order to accomplish this.

Surgical instruments are very expensive and require excellent care. In many hospitals and clinics, the physician owns his or her own personal instruments and they must constantly be separated from hospital trays. It is the surgical tech’s responsibility to keep up with these, as well as one of-a-kind item.

Communication

The surgical tech is the physician’s right hand helper. He or she can guide the course in regard to the way the surgery is going to go by anticipating the surgeon’s needs and being able to keep up with suture needs and supplies like sponges, drains, and special requirements for the procedure. There should be clear communication between the surgeon and his or her staff, so there are no surprises during the surgery.

Techs also work hand in hand with nurses and must keep this line of communication open when counting sponges and needles during open procedures.