Career profile Surgical Assistant

Table of Contents

• What does a Surgical Assistant do?
• What is a typical salary for a Surgical Assistant?
• What personality traits are common among Surgical Assistants?
  • Career Interests
  • Values
  • Psychological Demands
• What education and training do Surgical Assistants need?
  • Typical educational degrees
  • Required knowledge and expertise
  • Important abilities
  • Critical skills

What does a Surgical Assistant do?

Surgical Assistants assist in operations, under the supervision of surgeons.

In addition, Surgical Assistants 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.

What kind of tasks does a Surgical Assistant perform regularly?

Surgical Assistants are often responsible for overseeing or executing some or all of the following tasks:

• Verify the identity of patient or operative site.
• Monitor and maintain aseptic technique throughout procedures.
• 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.
• Maintain an unobstructed operative field, using surgical retractors, sponges, or suctioning and irrigating equipment.
• Prepare and apply sterile wound dressings.
• Apply sutures, staples, clips, or other materials to close skin, facia, or subcutaneous wound layers.
• 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.
• Determine availability of necessary equipment or supplies for operative procedures.
• Clamp, ligate, or cauterize blood vessels to control bleeding during surgical entry, using hemostatic clamps, suture ligatures, or electrocautery equipment.
• Assess skin integrity or other body conditions upon completion of the procedure to determine if damage has occurred from body positioning.
• Assist with patient resuscitation during cardiac arrest or other life-threatening events.
• Obtain or inspect sterile or non-sterile surgical equipment, instruments, or supplies.
• Operate sterilizing devices.
• Pass instruments or supplies to surgeon during procedure.
• Monitor patient intra-operative status, including patient position, vital signs, or volume and color of blood.
• Assist in the insertion, positioning, or suturing of closed-wound drainage systems.
• Gather, arrange, or assemble instruments or supplies.
• Assist members of surgical team with gowning or gloving.
• Coordinate with anesthesia personnel to maintain patient temperature.
• Adjust and maintain operating room temperature, humidity, or lighting, according to surgeon's specifications.
• Assist in applying casts, splints, braces, or similar devices.
• Transport patients to operating room.

The above responsibilities are specific to Surgical Assistants. More generally, Surgical Assistants are involved in several broader types of activities:

What is a Surgical Assistant salary?

What personality traits are common among Surgical Assistants?

Interests

Career interests describe a person's preferences for different types of working environments and activities. When a person's interest match the demands of an occupation, people are usually more engaged and satisfied in that role.

Compared to most occupations, those who work as a Surgical Assistant are usually higher in their Conventional, Social, and Realistic interests.

Surgical Assistants typically have very strong Conventional interests. Conventional occupations frequently involve following set procedures and routines. These occupations can include working with data and details more than with ideas. Usually there is a clear line of authority to follow.

Also, Surgical Assistants typically have strong Social interests. Social occupations frequently involve working with, communicating with, and teaching people. These occupations often involve helping or providing service to others.

Lastly, Surgical Assistants typically have moderate Realistic interests. Realistic occupations frequently involve work activities that include practical, hands-on problems and solutions. They often deal with plants, animals, and real-world materials like wood, tools, and machinery. Many of the occupations require working outside, and do not involve a lot of paperwork or working closely with others.

Values

People differ in their values, or what is most important to them for building job satisfaction and fulfillment.

Compared to most people, those working as a Surgical Assistant tend to value Relationships, Achievement, and Recognition.

Most importantly, Surgical Assistants very strongly value Relationships. Occupations that satisfy this work value allow employees to provide service to others and work with co-workers in a friendly non-competitive environment.

Second, Surgical Assistants moderately value Achievement. Occupations that satisfy this work value are results oriented and allow employees to use their strongest abilities, giving them a feeling of accomplishment.

Lastly, Surgical Assistants moderately value Recognition. Occupations that satisfy this work value offer advancement, potential for leadership, and are often considered prestigious.

Psychological Demands

Each occupation brings its own set of psychological demands, which describe the characteristics necessary to perform the job well.

In order to perform their job successfully, people who work as Surgical Assistants must consistently demonstrate qualities such as self-control, dependability, and attention to detail.

Below, you'll find a list of qualities typically required of Surgical Assistants, ranked by importance:

What education and training do Surgical Assistants need?

Surgical Assistants often have training in vocational schools, related on-the-job experience, or an associate's degree.

Surgical Assistants usually need one or two years of training involving both on-the-job experience and informal training with experienced workers. A recognized apprenticeship program may be associated with this occupation.

Educational degrees among Surgical Assistants

• 1.0% did not complete high school or secondary school
• 5.3% completed high school or secondary school
• 12.0% completed some college coursework
• 8.4% earned a Associate's degree
• 34.2% earned a Bachelor's degree
• 34.6% earned a Master's degree
• 4.5% earned a doctorate or professional degree

Knowledge and expertise required by Surgical Assistants

Important Abilities needed by Surgical Assistants

Surgical Assistants must develop a particular set of abilities to perform their job well. Abilities are individual capacities that influence a person's information processing, sensory perception, motor coordination, and physical strength or endurance. Individuals may naturally have certain abilities without explicit training, but most abilities can be sharpened somewhat through practice.

For example, Surgical Assistants need abilities such as oral comprehension, arm-hand steadiness, and finger dexterity in order to perform their job at a high level. The list below shows several important abilities for Surgical Assistants, ranked by their relative importance.

Critical Skills needed by Surgical Assistants

Skills are developed capacities that enable people to function effectively in real-world settings. Unlike abilities, skills are typically easier to build through practice and experience. Skills influence effectiveness in areas such as learning, working with others, design, troubleshooting, and more.

Surgical Assistants frequently use skills like active listening, speaking, and reading comprehension to perform their job effectively. The list below shows several critical skills for Surgical Assistants, ranked by their relative importance.

What is the source of this information?

The information provided on this page is adapted from data and descriptions published by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration under the CC BY 4.0 license. TraitLab has modified some information for ease of use and reading, and the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment, and Training Administration has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications.

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