Anybody a Surgical Assistant Here?

[MedicineNutt]

I just found out about this from a job listing...i wonder if your experience as a surgical assistant was well worth it? is there any schooling for this particular job...if there is--do they prefer certified assistants? what schools usually offer this certicate...can you obtain it online? If i can hook a job as a surg assistant, then it will increase my chances of getting to know surgeons--the way i see it!!!

would definitely like some feedback

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[rajad10]

I just found out about this from a job listing...i wonder if your experience as a surgical assistant was well worth it? is there any schooling for this particular job...if there is--do they prefer certified assistants? what schools usually offer this certicate...can you obtain it online? If i can hook a job as a surg assistant, then it will increase my chances of getting to know surgeons--the way i see it!!!

would definitely like some feedback

yea, i was a full time one for this past summer. you basically help out around the OR doing many tasks, of which the most important is turning rooms over. I think SA is a fancy way of saying orderly. the OR i worked at only had 7 rooms, so i also learned to pick cases and do some of the nursing and scrub tech tasks. i learned a lot about how an OR works, a crap load of the equipment, and i met a lot of surgeons who let me shadow them, so i got to see 30 or so different procedures in different fields. there is no schooling obviously. i would reccomend it, it can be a dirty job at times, but in my eyes, it was well worth it for the amount of information i soaked in for my 3 months there. pm me if you have any questinos

 

[MedicineNutt]

yea, i was a full time one for this past summer. you basically help out around the OR doing many tasks, of which the most important is turning rooms over. I think SA is a fancy way of saying orderly. the OR i worked at only had 7 rooms, so i also learned to pick cases and do some of the nursing and scrub tech tasks. i learned a lot about how an OR works, a crap load of the equipment, and i met a lot of surgeons who let me shadow them, so i got to see 30 or so different procedures in different fields. there is no schooling obviously. i would reccomend it, it can be a dirty job at times, but in my eyes, it was well worth it for the amount of information i soaked in for my 3 months there. pm me if you have any questinos

big thanks! check your PM for a few more questions
oh and btw, is it a full time sorta job? do you still work full time? just wonderin

 

[KornKobs]

I just found out about this from a job listing...i wonder if your experience as a surgical assistant was well worth it? is there any schooling for this particular job...if there is--do they prefer certified assistants? what schools usually offer this certicate...can you obtain it online? If i can hook a job as a surg assistant, then it will increase my chances of getting to know surgeons--the way i see it!!!

would definitely like some feedback

ok, most hospitals prefer a certified surg assistant, and the jobs vary. For example, at the hospital I work at, you could get in either way depending on which job you took. If you were going to work in the or with the surgeon, then you need to be certified, but if you were working in casecarts in the or, then you could get in without being certified (and someone I know there gets to watch the surgeries too). Also, and I'm not totally sure about this, but there's another area where you basically sterilize the instruments..and you don't need to be certified for that either. I think it really depends on the hospital.

 

[RokChalkJayhawk]

Sterlizing the instruments pretty much would mean 0 patient contact. You get to run an autoclave all day.

 

[63768]

Sterlizing the instruments pretty much would mean 0 patient contact. You get to run an autoclave all day.

i don't think surgical assts run sterilize instruments. i've always seen dedicated personnel for that task. surgical assts (from what i've seen) set up the OR for the surgeries, gown and glove all those working at the table, assist the doctor by handing instruments and suture, sometimes help in holding the patient. i think it's a pretty cool job, but i've always wanted to be the one holding the knife than the one handing the knife (hence why i'm on this board haha).

 

[jophe]

I am assuming you don't mean "surgical tech," right? I always thought becoming a surgical tech would be a pretty cool job, but in Texas you need schooling for it. I think it is a one-year program

 

[MedicineNutt]

I am assuming you don't mean "surgical tech," right? I always thought becoming a surgical tech would be a pretty cool job, but in Texas you need schooling for it. I think it is a one-year program

hmmmm, i dont even know if there is a difference between an assistant or tech...is there?

 

[63768]

hmmmm, i dont even know if there is a difference between an assistant or tech...is there?

i've always thought they were synonymous. i could be wrong. and the previous poster was right about schooling. i don't think you can walk in and start.

 

[RokChalkJayhawk]

i don't think surgical assts run sterilize instruments. i've always seen dedicated personnel for that task. surgical assts (from what i've seen) set up the OR for the surgeries, gown and glove all those working at the table, assist the doctor by handing instruments and suture, sometimes help in holding the patient. i think it's a pretty cool job, but i've always wanted to be the one holding the knife than the one handing the knife (hence why i'm on this board haha).

There are people dedicated to sterlizing instruments in the ORs I have been around. No patient contact in that job so I don't think it would be too advisable for a pre-med considering it as an EC, but it's probably better than flipping burgers.