What does a Surgical Technician do?
A Surgical Technician is an essential member of a medical operating team. They serve as an additional hand of a surgeon. Surgical Technicians have the vital responsibility of assisting surgeons during operations, such as passing and providing instruments and tools such as Graspers, Clasps, Suction, and more. Furthermore, Surgical Technicians are also responsible for preparing all of the required surgical devices and instruments, making sure they are all up to the standards of hospital and medical regulations. And post-surgery, their duties include applying bandages to a patient and even cleaning the operating room.
Surgical technician responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real surgical technician resumes:
- Manage sterilization of field during surgical procedures, ensuring cleanliness and sanitation meet organization protocol.
- Function in scrub role in Cardio-Thoracic cases in adult and pediatrics surgeries.
- Experience in on-site and real life crisis situations with patients needing Heimlich maneuver and/or CPR.
- Certify nurse of the operating room, register first assistant, BLS and ACLS certify.
- Operate as part of the anesthesia team by assisting the anesthesiologist and the CRNA before and during routine surgical cases.
- Distribute instruments, sponges, sutures and other supplies to surgeons using aseptic technique and assists in a variety of specialties.
- Blood draws, catheter placement, lab work, anesthesia, patient monitoring, radiology, instrument sterilization, equipment maintenance.
- Monitor patients post procedure in addition to telephoning standard prescriptions for pain as well as antibiotics to patients' prefer pharmacies.
- Assist patients with rehabilitation and post-surgical care.
- Monitor patients' conditions with compassion and accuracy.
- Perform daily surgical and endoscopy procedures, patient care, and monitor one-on-one at risk patients
- Provide care of patients during pre-operative period, administer moderate sedation to patients undergoing endoscopic procedures.
- Assist in preparing patients' and operating room environments for surgery and provide assistance to medical staff during surgical procedures.
- Assist in CPR and ACLS.
- Place EKG's, BP cuff, and pulse on patient.
Surgical technician skills and personality traits
We calculated that 19% of Surgical Technicians are proficient in Patients, Surgical Technologist, and Surgical Procedures. They’re also known for soft skills such as Dexterity, Integrity, and Listening skills.
We break down the percentage of Surgical Technicians that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Patients, 19%
Assisted in preparing patients' and operating room environments for surgery and provided assistance to medical staff during surgical procedures.
- Surgical Technologist, 12%
Demonstrated expertise instructing, evaluating, and overseeing surgical technologists and staff within ambulatory surgery center for established managed care consortium.
- Surgical Procedures, 9%
Provided instruction in medical terminology, anatomy & physiology, foundations of surgical technology, surgical procedures, and surgical instrumentation.
- Patient Care, 8%
Performed a variety of technical and supportive patient care to assist anesthesiologists, residents and nurse anesthetists in performing anesthetic procedures.
- CST, 6%
Completed performance improvement projects aimed at CST Continuing Education.
- Sterile Technique, 5%
Gained familiarity with animal anatomy and instruments used during procedures, and practiced sterile technique.
Common skills that a surgical technician uses to do their job include "patients," "surgical technologist," and "surgical procedures." You can find details on the most important surgical technician responsibilities below.
Dexterity. To carry out their duties, the most important skill for a surgical technician to have is dexterity. Their role and responsibilities require that "surgical assistants and technologists should be comfortable working with their hands." Surgical technicians often use dexterity in their day-to-day job, as shown by this real resume: "facilitate hands on training for cst students. "
Integrity. Another soft skill that's essential for fulfilling surgical technician duties is integrity. The role rewards competence in this skill because "because they are trusted to help during surgical procedures, surgical assistants and technologists must be ethical and honest." According to a surgical technician resume, here's how surgical technicians can utilize integrity in their job responsibilities: "maintain sterility, checking integrity of equipment while using proper asepsis prevention, and keeping patient safety a priority. "
Listening skills. surgical technicians are also known for listening skills, which are critical to their duties. You can see how this skill relates to surgical technician responsibilities, because "responding to requests from surgeons and others on the surgical team requires the ability to listen to and understand spoken directions." A surgical technician resume example shows how listening skills is used in the workplace: "communicated with operating team to ensure patient safety. "
Physical stamina. A big part of what surgical technicians do relies on "physical stamina." You can see how essential it is to surgical technician responsibilities because "surgical assistants and technologists should be comfortable standing for extended periods." Here's an example of how this skill is used from a resume that represents typical surgical technician tasks: "remove iv's, record input/outputs, assist physical therapy, nurses, & doctors with patient care. "
Detail oriented. Another crucial skill for a surgical technician to carry out their responsibilities is "detail oriented." A big part of what surgical technicians relies on this skill, since "surgical assistants and technologists must pay close attention to their work." How this skill relates to surgical technician duties can be seen in an example from a surgical technician resume snippet: "practice patient safety and precautions, attention to details for overall positive care, and medication accountability. "
The three companies that hire the most surgical technicians are:
- Soliant758 surgical technicians jobs
- MedPro Healthcare Staffing692 surgical technicians jobs
- Aya Healthcare688 surgical technicians jobs
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Compare different surgical technicians
Surgical technician vs. Operating room nurse
An Operating Room Nurse assists surgeons during operations and keeps the operating room sterile at all times. They ensure that patients are ready for transport to the recovery room.
While similarities exist, there are also some differences between surgical technicians and operating room nurse. For instance, surgical technician responsibilities require skills such as "surgical technologist," "patient care," "cst," and "cpr." Whereas a operating room nurse is skilled in "bls," "acls," "pacu," and "pre-op." This is part of what separates the two careers.
Operating room nurses earn the highest salaries when working in the professional industry, with an average yearly salary of $78,495. On the other hand, surgical technicians are paid more in the professional industry with an average salary of $55,369.The education levels that operating room nurses earn slightly differ from surgical technicians. In particular, operating room nurses are 3.3% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree than a surgical technician. Additionally, they're 0.0% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Surgical technician vs. Operating room technician
An operating room technician is responsible for assisting in the operating room procedures, ensuring the cleanliness and orderliness of the room, inspecting the condition of machines before the operation, and preparing medical tools and equipment accordingly. Operating room technicians guide the patients throughout the surgical procedures, instructing them as necessary regarding the processes. They also monitor the adequacy of surgical supplies inventory and write request reports for purchase. An operating room technician must have excellent communication and organizational skills, as well as the ability to multitask to attend to different patients' needs within a strict, demanding time.
Each career also uses different skills, according to real surgical technician resumes. While surgical technician responsibilities can utilize skills like "cst," "surgical services," "operative procedure," and "rehabilitation," operating room technicians use skills like "room environment," "infection control," "ortho," and "anesthesia."
On average, operating room technicians earn a higher salary than surgical technicians. Some industries support higher salaries in each profession. Interestingly enough, operating room technicians earn the most pay in the health care industry with an average salary of $56,415. Whereas surgical technicians have higher pay in the professional industry, with an average salary of $55,369.In general, operating room technicians achieve similar levels of education than surgical technicians. They're 1.5% more likely to obtain a Master's Degree while being 0.0% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Surgical technician vs. Certified surgical technician/first assistant
Anesthesia technicians are healthcare professionals who oversee activities related to anesthetics. They administer anesthesia to patients and assist doctors in related activities. They also monitor the patient after the anesthesia is administered to ensure that no harmful side effects occurred. Anesthesia technicians are expected to know how to test for anesthetic allergies and to spot signs of such allergies. They should be familiar with the different techniques, solutions, and equipment used for anesthetic procedures. Aside from those, anesthesia technicians are also expected to manage the inventory of anesthetic solutions and to trigger purchase requests for new stocks.
There are many key differences between these two careers, including some of the skills required to perform responsibilities within each role. For example, a surgical technician is likely to be skilled in "patients," "surgical technologist," "patient care," and "cst," while a typical certified surgical technician/first assistant is skilled in "patient education," "surgical tech," "insurance verification," and "epic."
Certified surgical technician/first assistants typically earn similar educational levels compared to surgical technicians. Specifically, they're 2.0% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 0.4% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Surgical technician vs. Anesthesia technician
Even though a few skill sets overlap between surgical technicians and anesthesia technicians, there are some differences that are important to note. For one, a surgical technician might have more use for skills like "surgical technologist," "cst," "sponges," and "surgical services." Meanwhile, some responsibilities of anesthesia technicians require skills like "bls," "anesthesia tech," "surgery," and "anesthesia machines. "
In general, anesthesia technicians earn the most working in the education industry, with an average salary of $42,622. The highest-paying industry for a surgical technician is the professional industry.anesthesia technicians reach similar levels of education compared to surgical technicians, in general. The difference is that they're 2.0% more likely to earn a Master's Degree, and 0.1% more likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Types of surgical technician
Updated January 8, 2025
