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in Career - 14 Oct, 2013
by Karon - no comments
What to Expect as a Surgical Technician

The operating room is an exciting place to be when youâ€™re at the hospital. The cases are varied and you never know whatâ€™s going to happen next as every patient is different and the surgical outcomes can be just as surprising. A surgical technician needs to be flexible and physically and mentally fit. Like anyone in the medical field, he builds his career on the principles of critical thinking. A surgical technician needs to be constantly challenged by what he sees and does in order to match the strict techniques practiced by those in the operating room.

The surgical technologist often referred to as scrubs, assist surgeons and nurses during surgical procedures. Their role requires them to prepare the operating room before a scheduled operation is to take place. Preparing the operating room puts scrubs in a very important position. The operating room needs to be meticulously clean and free of anything unsterile. Introducing unsterile items results in prolonged hospital stays, infection and-in the rarest of cases- death. During operation, the tech may assist surgeons and nurses by introducing sterile items into the field. Some institutions allow surgical techs to directly assist the surgeon by handing out the equipments needed. Once the operation is over, the surgical technician aids the team in ensuring that all the sponges, needles and instruments used are complete and the proceeds to clean the instruments used and places them in a machine to ensure that they become sterile again.

In order to become a surgical technician, you need to train for at least 9 to 24 months. Looking for proper education and training can aid you greatly during the actual exposure as schools often provide you with a solid background on the topics you need to be aware of in the operating room. These topics include learning how to speak in medical terminology, understand how the medications work, how to set up the sterile field, the types of instruments used in the OR and what they are for. Subjects that are crucial for a surgical technician include anatomy and physiology and pharmacology as these subjects are used daily in the operating room.

A high school graduate can become a surgical technician by enrolling in an accredited school that provides training and certification. When finding schools, ensure that it is accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Allied Education Programs so you can be eligible to obtain certification from the Liaison Council on Certification for the Surgical Technologist after examination. This certification will aid you greatly in finding an employer.

The demand for surgical technologists is rising. The average salary for a surgical technologist is $40,000 a year, but this will be entirely dependent on experience and location of the facility. In order to get a higher salary, you need to further your education by attending seminars and watching out for opportunities to grow.

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