Surgical Assistants
Assist in operations, under the supervision of surgeons. May, in accordance with state laws, help surgeons to make incisions and close surgical sites, manipulate or remove tissues, implant surgical devices or drains, suction the surgical site, place catheters, clamp or cauterize vessels or tissue, and apply dressings to surgical site.
Also Known As:
Certified First Assistant (CFA)
Certified Registered Nurse First Assistant (CRNFA)
Certified Surgical Assistant (CSA)
Certified Surgical First Assistant (CSFA)
Certified Surgical Technician
Gastrointestinal Technician (GI Technician)
Registered Nurse First Assistant (RNFA)
Surgical First Assistant
Surgical Scrub Technician (Surgical Scrub Tech)
Surgical Technician (Surgical Tech)
Wages
Annual wages for Surgical Assistants in United States
Job Outlook
Bright
New job opportunities are very likely in the future
United States
2033 Projected Employment
22,700
7% Change From 2023
Explore Surgical Technologists video
Tasks you might complete in a day.
- Coordinate with anesthesia personnel to maintain patient temperature.
- Assist in the insertion, positioning, or suturing of closed-wound drainage systems.
- Transport patients to operating room.
- Monitor and maintain aseptic technique throughout procedures.
- Remove patient hair or disinfect incision sites to prepare patient for surgery.
- Insert or remove urinary bladder catheters.
- Operate sterilizing devices.
- Assist with patient resuscitation during cardiac arrest or other life-threatening events.
- Cover patients with surgical drapes to create and maintain a sterile operative field.
- Coordinate or participate in the positioning of patients, using body stabilizing equipment or protective padding to provide appropriate exposure for the procedure or to protect against nerve damage or circulation impairment.
- Coordinate or participate in the positioning of patients, using body stabilizing equipment or protective padding to provide appropriate exposure for the procedure or to protect against nerve damage or circulation impairment.
- Verify the identity of patient or operative site.
- Monitor patient intra-operative status, including patient position, vital signs, or volume and color of blood.
- Incise tissue layers in lower extremities to harvest veins.
- Postoperatively inject a subcutaneous local anesthetic agent to reduce pain.
- Assist members of surgical team with gowning or gloving.
- Maintain an unobstructed operative field, using surgical retractors, sponges, or suctioning and irrigating equipment.
- Apply sutures, staples, clips, or other materials to close skin, facia, or subcutaneous wound layers.
- Assist in applying casts, splints, braces, or similar devices.
- Prepare and apply sterile wound dressings.
- Gather, arrange, or assemble instruments or supplies.
- Postoperatively inject a subcutaneous local anesthetic agent to reduce pain.
- Determine availability of necessary equipment or supplies for operative procedures.
- Prepare and apply sterile wound dressings.
- Discuss with surgeon the nature of the surgical procedure, including operative consent, methods of operative exposure, diagnostic or laboratory data, or patient-advanced directives or other needs.
- Clamp, ligate, or cauterize blood vessels to control bleeding during surgical entry, using hemostatic clamps, suture ligatures, or electrocautery equipment.
- Assist in volume replacement or autotransfusion techniques.
- Assist members of surgical team with gowning or gloving.
- Clamp, ligate, or cauterize blood vessels to control bleeding during surgical entry, using hemostatic clamps, suture ligatures, or electrocautery equipment.
- Pass instruments or supplies to surgeon during procedure.
- Obtain or inspect sterile or non-sterile surgical equipment, instruments, or supplies.
Subject areas you may need to master.
- Fine Arts - Knowledge of the theory and techniques required to compose, produce, and perform works of music, dance, visual arts, drama, and sculpture.
- Sociology and Anthropology - Knowledge of group behavior and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures, and their history and origins.
- Transportation - Knowledge of principles and methods for moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road, including the relative costs and benefits.
- Public Safety and Security - Knowledge of relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of people, data, property, and institutions.
- Physics - Knowledge and prediction of physical principles, laws, their interrelationships, and applications to understanding fluid, material, and atmospheric dynamics, and mechanical, electrical, atomic and sub-atomic structures and processes.
- Engineering and Technology - Knowledge of the practical application of engineering science and technology. This includes applying principles, techniques, procedures, and equipment to the design and production of various goods and services.
- Therapy and Counseling - Knowledge of principles, methods, and procedures for diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of physical and mental dysfunctions, and for career counseling and guidance.
- Medicine and Dentistry - Knowledge of the information and techniques needed to diagnose and treat human injuries, diseases, and deformities. This includes symptoms, treatment alternatives, drug properties and interactions, and preventive health-care measures.
- Geography - Knowledge of principles and methods for describing the features of land, sea, and air masses, including their physical characteristics, locations, interrelationships, and distribution of plant, animal, and human life.
- Psychology - Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.
- Administrative - Knowledge of administrative and office procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and workplace terminology.
- Sales and Marketing - Knowledge of principles and methods for showing, promoting, and selling products or services. This includes marketing strategy and tactics, product demonstration, sales techniques, and sales control systems.
- Personnel and Human Resources - Knowledge of principles and procedures for personnel recruitment, selection, training, compensation and benefits, labor relations and negotiation, and personnel information systems.
- Philosophy and Theology - Knowledge of different philosophical systems and religions. This includes their basic principles, values, ethics, ways of thinking, customs, practices, and their impact on human culture.
- Foreign Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of a foreign (non-English) language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition and grammar, and pronunciation.
- Administration and Management - Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
- Mechanical - Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.
- Communications and Media - Knowledge of media production, communication, and dissemination techniques and methods. This includes alternative ways to inform and entertain via written, oral, and visual media.
- Food Production - Knowledge of techniques and equipment for planting, growing, and harvesting food products (both plant and animal) for consumption, including storage/handling techniques.
- Design - Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.
- Customer and Personal Service - Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
- Production and Processing - Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.
- Building and Construction - Knowledge of materials, methods, and the tools involved in the construction or repair of houses, buildings, or other structures such as highways and roads.
- Computers and Electronics - Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
- Law and Government - Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.
- English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
- Biology - Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.
- Telecommunications - Knowledge of transmission, broadcasting, switching, control, and operation of telecommunications systems.
- Mathematics - Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
- Chemistry - Knowledge of the chemical composition, structure, and properties of substances and of the chemical processes and transformations that they undergo. This includes uses of chemicals and their interactions, danger signs, production techniques, and disposal methods.
- Education and Training - Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
- History and Archeology - Knowledge of historical events and their causes, indicators, and effects on civilizations and cultures.
- Economics and Accounting - Knowledge of economic and accounting principles and practices, the financial markets, banking, and the analysis and reporting of financial data.
Strengths you may need in this role.
- Quality Control Analysis - Testing how well a product or service works.
- Negotiation - Bringing people together to solve differences.
- Science - Using scientific rules and strategies to solve problems.
- Systems Evaluation - Measuring how well a system is working and how to improve it.
- Operations Monitoring - Watching gauges, dials, or display screens to make sure a machine is working.
- Judgment and Decision Making - Thinking about the pros and cons of different options and picking the best one.
- Management of Material Resources - Managing equipment and materials.
- Monitoring - Keeping track of how well people and/or groups are doing in order to make improvements.
- Persuasion - Talking people into changing their minds or their behavior.
- Repairing - Repairing machines or systems using the right tools.
- Active Listening - Listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions.
- Systems Analysis - Figuring out how a system should work and how changes in the future will affect it.
- Service Orientation - Looking for ways to help people.
- Social Perceptiveness - Understanding people's reactions.
- Management of Personnel Resources - Selecting and managing the best workers for a job.
- Time Management - Managing your time and the time of other people.
- Critical Thinking - Thinking about the pros and cons of different ways to solve a problem.
- Operation and Control - Using equipment or systems.
- Programming - Writing computer programs.
- Coordination - Changing what is done based on other people's actions.
- Mathematics - Using math to solve problems.
- Active Learning - Figuring out how to use new ideas or things.
- Troubleshooting - Figuring out what is causing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs to not work.
- Equipment Selection - Deciding what kind of tools and equipment are needed to do a job.
- Installation - Installing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs.
- Reading Comprehension - Reading work-related information.
- Technology Design - Making equipment and technology useful for customers.
- Learning Strategies - Using the best training or teaching strategies for learning new things.
- Speaking - Talking to others.
- Management of Financial Resources - Making spending decisions and keeping track of what is spent.
- Equipment Maintenance - Planning and doing the basic maintenance on equipment.
- Complex Problem Solving - Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it.
- Operations Analysis - Figuring out what a product or service needs to be able to do.
- Instructing - Teaching people how to do something.
- Writing - Writing things for co-workers or customers.
- Written Expression - Communicating by writing.
- Manual Dexterity - Holding or moving items with your hands.
- Originality - Creating new and original ideas.
- Speech Clarity - Speaking clearly.
- Information Ordering - Ordering or arranging things.
- Deductive Reasoning - Using rules to solve problems.
- Mathematical Reasoning - Choosing the right type of math to solve a problem.
- Response Orientation - Quickly deciding if you should move your hand, foot, or other body part.
- Sound Localization - Noticing the direction that a sound came from.
- Multilimb Coordination - Using your arms and/or legs together while sitting, standing, or lying down.
- Explosive Strength - Jumping, sprinting, or throwing something.
- Visual Color Discrimination - Noticing the difference between colors, including shades and brightness.
- Spatial Orientation - Knowing where things are around you.
- Selective Attention - Paying attention to something without being distracted.
- Auditory Attention - Paying attention to one sound while there are other distracting sounds.
- Oral Expression - Communicating by speaking.
- Speech Recognition - Recognizing spoken words.
- Far Vision - Seeing details that are far away.
- Inductive Reasoning - Making general rules or coming up with answers from lots of detailed information.
- Flexibility of Closure - Seeing hidden patterns.
- Control Precision - Quickly changing the controls of a machine, car, truck or boat.
- Reaction Time - Quickly moving your hand, finger, or foot based on a sound, light, picture or other command.
- Category Flexibility - Grouping things in different ways.
- Arm-Hand Steadiness - Keeping your arm or hand steady.
- Gross Body Equilibrium - Keeping your balance or staying upright.
- Written Comprehension - Reading and understanding what is written.
- Extent Flexibility - Bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching with your body, arms, and/or legs.
- Finger Dexterity - Putting together small parts with your fingers.
- Hearing Sensitivity - Telling the difference between sounds.
- Memorization - Remembering words, numbers, pictures, or steps.
- Perceptual Speed - Quickly comparing groups of letters, numbers, pictures, or other things.
- Visualization - Imagining how something will look after it is moved around or changed.
- Time Sharing - Doing two or more things at the same time.
- Peripheral Vision - Seeing something to your side when your are looking ahead.
- Depth Perception - Deciding which thing is closer or farther away from you, or deciding how far away it is from you.
- Near Vision - Seeing details up close.
- Stamina - Exercising for a long time without getting out of breath.
- Static Strength - Lifting, pushing, pulling, or carrying.
- Wrist-Finger Speed - Making fast, simple, repeated movements of your fingers, hands, and wrists.
- Rate Control - Changing when and how fast you move based on how something else is moving.
- Speed of Closure - Quickly knowing what you are looking at.
- Gross Body Coordination - Moving your arms, legs, and mid-section together while your whole body is moving.
- Oral Comprehension - Listening and understanding what people say.
- Number Facility - Adding, subtracting, multiplying, or dividing.
- Problem Sensitivity - Noticing when problems happen.
- Fluency of Ideas - Coming up with lots of ideas.
- Glare Sensitivity - Seeing something even if there is a glare or very bright light.
- Trunk Strength - Using your lower back and stomach.
- Speed of Limb Movement - Quickly moving your arms and legs.
- Dynamic Strength - Exercising for a long time without your muscles getting tired.
- Night Vision - Seeing at night or under low light.
- Dynamic Flexibility - Quickly and repeatedly bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching out with your body, arms, and/or legs.
Average Education Attained
Highest level of education earned by people in this career.
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Content sourced from United States Department of Labor Employment and Training Administration ("DOLETA") and the Minnesota Department of Employment & Economic Development ("DEED")