Surgical Technology

Alternative Job Titles for Surgical Technologists

• Certified Surgical Technician
• Certified Surgical Technologist (CST)
• Operating Room Surgical Technician (OR St)
• Operating Room Technician (OR Tech)
• Operating Room Technologist (OR Tech)
• Surgical Scrub Technician
• Surgical Scrub Technologist (Surgical Scrub Tech)
• Surgical Technician
• Surgical Technologist (Surgical Tech)

Job Tasks and Activities for Surgical Technologists

• Adjust settings or positions of medical equipment.
• Apply bandages, dressings, or splints.
• Assist healthcare practitioners during surgery.
• Clean and restock operating room, gathering and placing equipment and supplies and arranging instruments according to instructions, such as a preference card.
• Clean medical equipment or facilities.
• Count sponges, needles, and instruments before and after operation.
• Hand instruments and supplies to surgeons and surgeons' assistants, hold retractors and cut sutures, and perform other tasks as directed by surgeon during operation.
• Maintain a proper sterile field during surgical procedures.
• Maintain files and records of surgical procedures.
• Maintain inventory of medical supplies or equipment.
• Maintain sterile operative fields.
• Maintain supply of fluids, such as plasma, saline, blood, or glucose, for use during operations.
• Monitor patient conditions during treatments, procedures, or activities.
• Observe patients' vital signs to assess physical condition.
• Operate diagnostic or therapeutic medical instruments or equipment.
• Operate, assemble, adjust, or monitor sterilizers, lights, suction machines, or diagnostic equipment to ensure proper operation.
• Order medical supplies or equipment.
• Order surgical supplies.
• Position patients for treatment or examination.
• Prepare biological specimens for laboratory analysis.
• Prepare dressings or bandages and apply or assist with their application following surgery.
• Prepare patients for surgery, including positioning patients on the operating table and covering them with sterile surgical drapes to prevent exposure.
• Prepare, care for, and dispose of tissue specimens taken for laboratory analysis.
• Protect patients or staff members using safety equipment.
• Provide technical assistance to surgeons, surgical nurses, or anesthesiologists.
• Record patient medical histories.
• Scrub arms and hands and assist the surgical team to scrub and put on gloves, masks, and surgical clothing.
• Sterilize medical equipment or instruments.
• Wash and sterilize equipment, using germicides and sterilizers.

Interests for Surgical Technologists

• Realistic
  Designing, building, or repairing equipment, materials, or structures, engaging in physical activity, or working outdoors.
• Conventional
  Following procedures and regulations to organize information or data, typically in a business setting.
• Social
  Helping, teaching, advising, assisting, or providing service to others.

Skills for Surgical Technologists

In order of importance

• Monitoring
  Keeping track of how well people and/or groups are doing in order to make improvements.
  Importance: 69/100
• Active Listening
  Listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions.
  Importance: 60/100
• Operations Monitoring
  Watching gauges, dials, or display screens to make sure a machine is working.
  Importance: 56/100
• Speaking
  Talking to others.
  Importance: 53/100
• Coordination
  Changing what is done based on other people's actions.
  Importance: 53/100
• Time Management
  Managing your time and the time of other people.
  Importance: 53/100
• Critical Thinking
  Thinking about the pros and cons of different ways to solve a problem.
  Importance: 53/100
• Management of Material Resources
  Managing equipment and materials.
  Importance: 50/100
• Social Perceptiveness
  Understanding people's reactions.
  Importance: 50/100
• Learning Strategies
  Using the best training or teaching strategies for learning new things.
  Importance: 50/100
• Judgment and Decision Making
  Thinking about the pros and cons of different options and picking the best one.
  Importance: 50/100
• Active Learning
  Figuring out how to use new ideas or things.
  Importance: 50/100
• Reading Comprehension
  Reading work-related information.
  Importance: 50/100
• Operation and Control
  Using equipment or systems.
  Importance: 50/100
• Equipment Maintenance
  Planning and doing the basic maintenance on equipment.
  Importance: 50/100
• Service Orientation
  Looking for ways to help people.
  Importance: 50/100
• Complex Problem Solving
  Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it.
  Importance: 50/100
• Instructing
  Teaching people how to do something.
  Importance: 50/100
• Management of Personnel Resources
  Selecting and managing the best workers for a job.
  Importance: 47/100
• Writing
  Writing things for co-workers or customers.
  Importance: 47/100
• Systems Evaluation
  Measuring how well a system is working and how to improve it.
  Importance: 47/100
• Quality Control Analysis
  Testing how well a product or service works.
  Importance: 47/100
• Troubleshooting
  Figuring out what is causing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs to not work.
  Importance: 44/100
• Negotiation
  Bringing people together to solve differences.
  Importance: 41/100
• Mathematics
  Using math to solve problems.
  Importance: 41/100
• Persuasion
  Talking people into changing their minds or their behavior.
  Importance: 41/100
• Repairing
  Repairing machines or systems using the right tools.
  Importance: 38/100
• Systems Analysis
  Figuring out how a system should work and how changes in the future will affect it.
  Importance: 38/100
• Equipment Selection
  Deciding what kind of tools and equipment are needed to do a job.
  Importance: 35/100
• Science
  Using scientific rules and strategies to solve problems.
  Importance: 31/100
• Operations Analysis
  Figuring out what a product or service needs to be able to do.
  Importance: 25/100
• Management of Financial Resources
  Making spending decisions and keeping track of what is spent.
  Importance: 25/100
• Technology Design
  Making equipment and technology useful for customers.
  Importance: 22/100
• Programming
  Writing computer programs.
  Importance: 3/100

Knowledge for Surgical Technologists

In order of importance

• 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.
  Importance: 68/100
• 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.
  Importance: 68/100
• English Language
  Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
  Importance: 61/100
• 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.
  Importance: 53/100
• 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.
  Importance: 47/100
• 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.
  Importance: 47/100
• Biology
  Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.
  Importance: 45/100
• Mathematics
  Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
  Importance: 43/100
• Computers and Electronics
  Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
  Importance: 42/100
• 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.
  Importance: 39/100
• 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.
  Importance: 36/100
• Production and Processing
  Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.
  Importance: 35/100
• Mechanical
  Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.
  Importance: 34/100
• Law and Government
  Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.
  Importance: 31/100
• 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.
  Importance: 31/100
• 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.
  Importance: 31/100
• Sociology and Anthropology
  Knowledge of group behavior and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures, and their history and origins.
  Importance: 29/100
• 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.
  Importance: 28/100
• 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.
  Importance: 25/100
• 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.
  Importance: 25/100
• Telecommunications
  Knowledge of transmission, broadcasting, switching, control, and operation of telecommunications systems.
  Importance: 19/100
• Economics and Accounting
  Knowledge of economic and accounting principles and practices, the financial markets, banking, and the analysis and reporting of financial data.
  Importance: 18/100
• 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.
  Importance: 18/100
• Transportation
  Knowledge of principles and methods for moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road, including the relative costs and benefits.
  Importance: 15/100
• 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.
  Importance: 13/100
• 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.
  Importance: 12/100
• Design
  Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.
  Importance: 11/100
• 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.
  Importance: 8/100
• 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.
  Importance: 8/100
• 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.
  Importance: 7/100
• History and Archeology
  Knowledge of historical events and their causes, indicators, and effects on civilizations and cultures.
  Importance: 6/100
• Food Production
  Knowledge of techniques and equipment for planting, growing, and harvesting food products (both plant and animal) for consumption, including storage/handling techniques.
  Importance: 4/100

Physical Abilities for Surgical Technologists

In order of importance

• Oral Comprehension
  Listening and understanding what people say.
  Importance: 75/100
• Near Vision
  Seeing details up close.
  Importance: 69/100
• Problem Sensitivity
  Noticing when problems happen.
  Importance: 69/100
• Speech Recognition
  Recognizing spoken words.
  Importance: 66/100
• Arm-Hand Steadiness
  Keeping your arm or hand steady.
  Importance: 63/100
• Selective Attention
  Paying attention to something without being distracted.
  Importance: 60/100
• Manual Dexterity
  Holding or moving items with your hands.
  Importance: 60/100
• Information Ordering
  Ordering or arranging things.
  Importance: 56/100
• Oral Expression
  Communicating by speaking.
  Importance: 56/100
• Perceptual Speed
  Quickly comparing groups of letters, numbers, pictures, or other things.
  Importance: 56/100
• Speech Clarity
  Speaking clearly.
  Importance: 53/100
• Flexibility of Closure
  Seeing hidden patterns.
  Importance: 53/100
• Visual Color Discrimination
  Noticing the difference between colors, including shades and brightness.
  Importance: 53/100
• Number Facility
  Adding, subtracting, multiplying, or dividing.
  Importance: 53/100
• Written Comprehension
  Reading and understanding what is written.
  Importance: 50/100
• Far Vision
  Seeing details that are far away.
  Importance: 50/100
• Visualization
  Imagining how something will look after it is moved around or changed.
  Importance: 50/100
• Multilimb Coordination
  Using your arms and/or legs together while sitting, standing, or lying down.
  Importance: 50/100
• Control Precision
  Quickly changing the controls of a machine, car, truck or boat.
  Importance: 50/100
• Finger Dexterity
  Putting together small parts with your fingers.
  Importance: 50/100
• Deductive Reasoning
  Using rules to solve problems.
  Importance: 50/100
• Trunk Strength
  Using your lower back and stomach.
  Importance: 50/100
• Written Expression
  Communicating by writing.
  Importance: 50/100
• Inductive Reasoning
  Making general rules or coming up with answers from lots of detailed information.
  Importance: 50/100
• Category Flexibility
  Grouping things in different ways.
  Importance: 50/100
• Fluency of Ideas
  Coming up with lots of ideas.
  Importance: 47/100
• Hearing Sensitivity
  Telling the difference between sounds.
  Importance: 47/100
• Auditory Attention
  Paying attention to one sound while there are other distracting sounds.
  Importance: 47/100
• Time Sharing
  Doing two or more things at the same time.
  Importance: 47/100
• Memorization
  Remembering words, numbers, pictures, or steps.
  Importance: 44/100
• Extent Flexibility
  Bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching with your body, arms, and/or legs.
  Importance: 44/100
• Speed of Closure
  Quickly knowing what you are looking at.
  Importance: 44/100
• Depth Perception
  Deciding which thing is closer or farther away from you, or deciding how far away it is from you.
  Importance: 44/100
• Static Strength
  Lifting, pushing, pulling, or carrying.
  Importance: 44/100
• Originality
  Creating new and original ideas.
  Importance: 38/100
• Mathematical Reasoning
  Choosing the right type of math to solve a problem.
  Importance: 38/100
• Stamina
  Exercising for a long time without getting out of breath.
  Importance: 35/100
• Response Orientation
  Quickly deciding if you should move your hand, foot, or other body part.
  Importance: 31/100
• Rate Control
  Changing when and how fast you move based on how something else is moving.
  Importance: 25/100
• Dynamic Strength
  Exercising for a long time without your muscles getting tired.
  Importance: 25/100
• Reaction Time
  Quickly moving your hand, finger, or foot based on a sound, light, picture or other command.
  Importance: 25/100
• Wrist-Finger Speed
  Making fast, simple, repeated movements of your fingers, hands, and wrists.
  Importance: 25/100
• Speed of Limb Movement
  Quickly moving your arms and legs.
  Importance: 25/100
• Gross Body Coordination
  Moving your arms, legs, and mid-section together while your whole body is moving.
  Importance: 25/100
• Gross Body Equilibrium
  Keeping your balance or staying upright.
  Importance: 25/100
• Glare Sensitivity
  Seeing something even if there is a glare or very bright light.
  Importance: 13/100
• Spatial Orientation
  Knowing where things are around you.
  Importance: 3/100
• Sound Localization
  Noticing the direction that a sound came from.
  Importance: 3/100

Tools and Technology used by Surgical Technologists

• Autotransfusion units
• Central venous catheters
• Chemical or gas sterilizers
• Coronary stents
• Cryosurgery units
• Desktop computers
• Electronic blood pressure units
• Electrosurgical or electrocautery equipment
• Endoscopic clamp or dissector or grasper or forceps
• Endoscopic equipment or procedure carts
• Endoscopic video cameras or recorders or adapters or accessories
• Eyemagnets for ophthalmic surgery
• Gas anesthesia apparatus or machines
• General surgical instrument sets
• General surgical supply set accessories
• Heart and lung machines
• Instrument tables for surgical or obstetrical delivery use
• Intravenous or arterial fluid warmers
• Lap mayo trays or mayo stands for surgical use
• Laparoscopes or laparoscopic telescopes
• Medical cinefluoroscopy units
• Medical equipment and instrument disinfectant washing equipment
• Medical exam or surgical headlights or headlamps
• Medical imaging dry laser printers or imagers
• Medical picture archiving computer systems PACS
• Medical staplers for external use
• Medical staplers for internal use
• Medical syringes without needle
• Medical ultrasound or doppler or echocardiograph transducer accessories
• Medical x ray units for general diagnostic use
• Mercury blood pressure units
• Mobile medical services automated external defibrillators AED or hard paddles
• Notebook computers
• Operating room patient fracture tables or orthopedic tables
• Operating room patient positioning devices for general use
• Oxygen insufflators
• Patient stretchers
• Personal computers
• Pleural cavity drainage units or containers
• Resuscitation kits
• Specimen collection container
• Steam autoclaves or sterilizers
• Sterilization cabinets
• Surgical clamps or clips or forceps
• Surgical dermatomes or dermabraders or dermameshers
• Surgical dilators
• Surgical dissectors
• Surgical drains or drain sets
• Surgical drapes
• Surgical elevators or levers
• Surgical equipment stands
• Surgical instrument holders or positioners
• Surgical lasers
• Surgical lithotripters
• Surgical microscopes or loupes or magnifiers
• Surgical navigation system accessories
• Surgical needle holders
• Surgical nerve stimulators
• Surgical pneumatic or battery or electric saws or drills or pin drivers
• Surgical pneumatic or electric tourniquets
• Surgical power equipment sets
• Surgical probes or directors
• Surgical retractors
• Surgical scalpels or knives or blades or trephines
• Surgical smoke evacuators
• Surgical suction machine or vacuum extractor or ultrasonic surgical aspirator
• Surgical vacuum extraction devices or curettes or related products
• Suture needles
• Suturing kits or trays or packs or sets
• Tablet computers
• Therapeutic heating or cooling blankets or drapes
• Therapeutic heating or cooling units or systems
• Tourniquets
• Tracheostomy tubes
• Ultrasonic cleaning equipment
• Urological surgical catheter accessories
• Vascular sequential compression devices or tubing
• Vein harvest kits or systems
• Video cassette players or recorders
• Wheelchairs
• Cloud-based data access and sharing software
  • Google Drive
• Data base user interface and query software
  • Database software
• Electronic mail software
  • Email software
• Graphics or photo imaging software
  • Graphics software
• Internet browser software
  • Internet browser software
• Medical software
  • Electronic medical record EMR software
  • MEDITECH software
  • Nursing documentation software
  • Patient scheduling software
  • Patient tracking software
  • Supply documentation software
  • Surgery workflow communication software
• Office suite software
  • Microsoft Office software
• Operating system software
  • Microsoft Windows
• Spreadsheet software
  • Microsoft Excel
• Word processing software
  • Microsoft Word
  • Word processing software

Employment Industries for Surgical Technologists

• General medical and surgical hospitals; private
  65,900 employed
• Offices of physicians
  12,900 employed
• General medical and surgical hospitals; local
  7,900 employed
• General medical and surgical hospitals; state
  3,000 employed
• Temporary help services
  2,800 employed
• Offices of dentists
  2,500 employed