How to Be a Certified Surgical Technician

Certified surgical technicians are at the top of the list of needed employees. Surgical centers and hospitals are doing more outpatient surgeries and need certified surgical technicians to help the surgical team scrub and put on surgical clothing, gloves and masks before surgery, as well as passing tools and instruments to surgeons. This field is growing fast, so the time to learn how to be a certified surgical technician is now.

Instructions

1. Take classes in anatomy, microbiology, physiology, surgical specialty procedures, general surgical procedures, operating room techniques, medical terminology and clinical practice. Learn to use diagnostic equipment, lighting equipment, suction machines and computer software programs such as email, Internet browser and photo imaging. Learn about handling patients' drugs.

2. Graduate from an accredited college with a two-year surgical technician program associate's degree or graduate from a one-year junior college, vocational or hospital program. Pass a national certification test and get recertified every four years if you have a one-year degree and every six years if you have a two-year degree. To recertify, you have to have 72 to 80 credit hours of education between certification and recertification. You can get your credits by taking classes, attending seminars and retaking exams.

3. Be prepared for such duties as putting the patients in position for surgery, transporting patients to and from the operating room, sterilizing equipment, preparing patients for surgery by shaving, washing and disinfecting them, passing tools and instruments to surgeons as needed, assisting nurses and anesthesiologists, cleaning and disinfecting the operating room, tools and equipment following surgery, handling blood supplies and drugs, and counting sponges, needles and other instruments used in surgery

4. Join the Association of Surgical Technicians, known in some states as the Association of Surgical Technologists. If you're a member, you can take more classes, and the cost you pay to take the tests is waived. The membership fee is well worth paying. The web site address is http://www.ast.org.

5. Show the ability to work as part of a team, keep calm in stressful situations, respect confidentiality, understand medical terminology, deal with objects and processes and and work under supervision using step-by-step procedures.

Resources

• Association of Surgical Technicians