A surgical technician works in the operating room of a practiced surgeon. A surgical tech will assist the surgeon with pre-operation preparations, like hand washing and glove application – and also during the surgery, passing instruments and adjusting machinery.
A tech will also help after a surgery by cleaning up the operating room, cleaning and discarding tools and preparing the room for the next surgery. As a surgical tech you must have excellent organizational skills and must be able to perform under pressure.
Yet, if you have what it takes, you could secure a high paying position with plenty of room for growth and longevity. Here are 5 must have skills for surgical techs.
- Organization. A surgical technician must have excellent organizational skills. Not only do they have to remember the specific requirements of different surgeons – there might be many different surgeons at a particular health care center – but also, they must be able to keep track of tools and make sure that the surgeon has them on hand at all times.Not only that, but a surgical tech must be able to manage a number of machines at once in order to make sure a patient’s heart monitor is on, oxygen is flowing, and anesthesia doesn’t stop.
- Multitasking. Multitasking is an essential skill for surgical techs. Before you go to SurgicalTechTraining.Org in search of classes to receive your surgical tech certification, it is important to know that you need to be managing multiple tasks at once. If you work in an emergency room, you might even be doing the job of three or four people, especially in the event of an emergency. If you can’t handle multiple tasks at once, perhaps becoming a surgical technician is not the right career for you.
- Patience. Surgical technicians require a lot of patience. You might be in the operating room for multiple hours assisting with surgeries. However, for most of the surgery you will simply be waiting until the surgeon needs your assistance.For instance, in the field of neurology, where a typical surgery might last for upward of 8 hours, you need to be able to not get finicky or doze off – the surgeon might need you at any moment.
- Memorization. Surgical techs must have excellent skills when it comes to memorization. Not only do you need to know what the different operating tools are, but you also need to remember surgeon and patient names, and especially a host of medical terminology.A surgeon might be barking orders at you, so it’s essential to know exactly what he or she is talking about, which is imperative in an emergency room.
- Grace. It will take a lot of grace as a surgical technician to withstand the stress and pressure of your job. How fast and graceful you are will play into a surgeon’s ability to save someone’s life.When it comes to surgery, the longer a patient spends under the knife, the greater the risk of complications. At the end of the day, grace under pressure is a critical skill if you are a surgical technician.
