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Duties of Surgical Tech

What Does A Surgical Tech Do?

Surgical TechnicianDue to the demand of surgical technicians in the healthcare industry today, more and more people are becoming interested in the field by discovering what are the duties of a surgical tech and whether or not they could handle the intensity of the job. If you are also wondering about this in-demand career, read on to understand what are the duties of a surgical tech.

Before surgery: What are the duties of a surgical tech?

Although surgical technicians are often called scrubs since they assist surgeons inside the OR, they also handle multiple tasks before, during and after a surgical operation. When thinking what are the duties of a surgical tech, you should understand that each procedure is important to the success of an operation.

Before surgery, surgical techs clean, shave and disinfect the patient's incision site. Techs also transport the patients carefully from their respective rooms to the operating room and make sure they are placed on the operating room cautiously. Surgical techs also make sure that all equipments, instruments and the operating room area are sterile and in good working condition.

During surgery: What are the duties of a surgical tech?

During surgery, the anesthesiologist, surgeons and certified nurses will require the assistance of surgical techs. They arrange equipments, operate diagnostic machines, suctions and other equipments, pass instruments, sutures, sponges and needles to surgeons or their assistants, hold retractors, cut sutures, handle drugs and maintain fluid supply, such as blood and plasma.

Aside from the surgery itself, you may ask what are the duties of a surgical tech when the operation has been a success. Well, they check patient charts, take vital sign readings, help with bandages and transfer patients back to the recovery room.

After surgery: What are the duties of a surgical tech?

After surgery, surgical techs will clean the operating room for the next surgery, prepare specimens for lab analysis, wash and sterilize used equipments, check machines and check on both the last and next patients.

As you can see, the responsibilities of a surgical tech are just as important as the registered nurse or other members of the surgical team.