Surgical Technologist

Job Description
Assists nursing personnel in giving quality care to patients in the Operating Room. Functions as a member of the surgical services team by performing perioperative tasks for patients having surgical procedures under the direction of the circulating nurse. The primary responsibility is that of scrub nurse in the Operating Room.

Job Responsibility

• Performs duties and responsibilities of a “scrub” person under the direction of a registered professional nurse.
• Assists the circulating nurse by gathering all instruments, supplies, equipment for each case in assigned room with use of surgeon’s preference card.
• Checks and confirms sterility tapes, dates, and integrity of wrappers.
• Opens sterile supplies for assigned cases.
• Checks and trouble shoots equipment for proper functioning prior to use and confirms suction is working. Appropriately removes malfunctioning equipment from use.
• Performs surgical counts with the circulating nurses according to policy.
• Performs surgical scrub technique and gown and glove procedure for self and surgical team.
• Maintains a sterile field and takes immediate action to correct any breaks in sterile technique.
• Arranges instruments, basins, sutures, and software in a precise manner to allow for accurate counting at completion of procedure.
• Uses all devices and instruments appropriately.
• Performs standard draping technique.
• Passes and handles instruments to surgical team in a safe and efficient manner. Correctly holds retractors as prescribed by the supervising physician.
• Breaks down setup and prepares instruments for sterilization, participates in turnover activities.
• Collaborates with the surgeon to ensure proper labeling of all specimens from the sterile field.
• Confirm all implants are correct, and not expired prior to accepting on sterile field.
• Assures all fluids are labeled on sterile field.
• Ensures appropriate and safe use of equipment throughout the surgery.
• Demonstrates knowledge of the procedure

Job Qualification

• High School Diploma or equivalent, required.
• Successful completion from a nationally accredited educational program for surgical technologist, a certified surgical technologist (CST) credential administered by the National Board of Surgical Technology and Surgical Assisting (NBSTSA) and maintains annual NYS required annual Operating Room CEU credits, required

OR

• Graduate of an accredited school of practical nursing or of a Nursing Vocational or Nursing Technical school, and current license to practice as a Practical Nurse in New York State, and maintains annual NYS required annual Operating Room CEU credits, required