Summary

The Surgical Scrub Tech’s responsibilities include preparing and assisting the surgeon during procedures using aseptic technique, maintaining supplies and instruments, providing quick turnover for subsequent procedures while assisting the nursing staff in providing quality patient care.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

• Assists in providing optimal patient care through appropriate planning and implementation of surgical procedures.
• Reviews assigned cases the prior workday to ensure they have all necessary supplies and equipment.
• Practices and maintains aseptic technique during operative procedures and while preparing sterile field.
• Utilizes surgeon’s preference cards in providing necessary supplies for each case.
• Anticipates surgeon’s needs and watches for any break in aseptic technique.
• Hands off all tissue removed from patients from the sterile field and identifies to the circulating nurse.
• Communicates needed updates to preference cards.
• Assists with orientation of new staff as needed.
• Assists with the turnover of the rooms in between cases.
• Assists with transferring patient to recovery room bed.
• Takes all instruments to decontamination room for cleaning and reprocessing.
• Assists with proper cleaning and disinfection of the OR.
• Checks OR board for assignment and sets up next case.
• Secures appropriate supplies and equipment for the next assigned case.
• Performs duties ensuring patient safety.
• Counts sponges, laps, needles, and instruments as indicated with circulating nurse per Policy and Procedure.
• Actively participates in the Time Out.
• Receives all drugs, and solutions needed for surgery from circulating nurse, checking all labels, expiration dates, and percentage.
• When cautery is used, ensures tip is away from patient when not in use.
• Clearly labels all medications on field.
• Communicates with OR Director/OR Supervisor regarding issues or operational conflicts in the department and participates in problem solving.
• Maintains employee safety.
• Uses a neutral receptacle for transferring of sharps to and from surgeon - does not allow hand to hand contact.
• Wears eye protection during procedure.
• Uses PPE in decontamination of instruments.
• Maintains supplies and instruments.
• Accurately and completely picks supplies needed for scheduled cases.
• Rotates stock and checks for expiration dates.
• Properly handles instrumentation to maintain function and life of the instrument.
• Effectively functions in Central Sterile.
• Participates in hospital wide inventory.
• Self-directed in completing assignments.
• Puts supplies up throughout the day and at end of day.
• Performs competently in emergency or stressful situations.
• Remains calm in emergency situations.
• Knowledgeable in resolving or troubleshooting technical challenges in the OR.
• Stays up to date in current practices.
• Surgical Scrub Tech Certification preferred.

Core Competencies

Action Orientation - Targets and achieves results, overcomes obstacles, accepts responsibility, establishes standards and responsibilities, creates a results-oriented environment, and follows through on actions.

Communications - Communicates well both verbally and in writing. Effectively conveys and shares information and ideas with others. Listens carefully and understands various viewpoints. Presents ideas clearly and concisely and understands relevant detail in presented information.

Creativity/Innovation - Generates novel ideas and develops or improves existing and new systems that challenge the status quo, takes risks, and encourages innovation.

Critical Judgment - Possesses the ability to define issues and focus on achieving workable solutions. Consistently does the right thing by performing with reliability.

Customer Orientation - Listens to customers, builds customer confidence, increases customer satisfaction, ensures commitments are met, sets appropriate customer expectations, and responds to customer needs.

Interpersonal Skills - Effectively and productively engages with others and establishes trust, credibility, and confidence with others.

Leadership - Motivates, empowers, inspires, collaborates with, and encourages others. Builds consensus when appropriate. Focuses team members on common goals.

Teamwork - Knows when and how to attract, develop, reward, and utilize teams to optimize results. Acts to build trust, inspire enthusiasm, encourage others, and help resolve conflicts and develop consensus in creating high-performance teams.

Professional Requirements

• Completes annual education requirements.
• Maintains regulatory requirements.
• Maintains patient confidentiality at all times.
• Reports to work on time and as scheduled, completes work within designated time.
• Wears identification while on duty, uses computerized punch time system correctly.
• Completes in-services and returns in a timely fashion.
• Attends annual review and department in-services, as scheduled.
• Attends monthly staff meetings or reads meeting minutes.
• Represents the organization in a positive and professional manner.
• Actively participates in performance improvement and continuous quality improvement (CQI) activities.
• Complies with all organizational policies regarding ethical business practices.
• Communicates the mission, ethics and goals of the hospital, as well as the focus statement of the department.
• Promotes professional growth of subordinates by sharing knowledge and/or directing them to sources if information appropriate to given situation. Utilizes journals, books, etc. to learn and/or improve new techniques and equipment.
• Assists other staff members in performing any duty that enhances the delivery of patient care.
• Meets dress code standards and adheres to policy on “Attire in the Operating Room”.

Advanced Orthopedic and Spine Certification Requirements

(CR.1c) As part of the Advanced Orthopedic and Spine Certification, at a minimum, the Program direct-care staff, must have eight (8) hours of education specific to the Program scope, initially, and at least annually thereafter.

(CR.1e) As part of the Advanced Orthopedic and Spine Certification, staff possess adaptability to processes as related to up-to-date best practices, collaboration between departments, compliance with protocols/processes, communication, cooperation and exceptional customer service.

Within 90 days of hire or, if currently employed, within 90 days of signing the job description, must adhere to:

• Orientation of Advanced Orthopedic and Spine Certification
• In compliance with the Program education requirements
• Completed department specific competencies

Regulatory Requirements

• Graduate of an accredited surgical technology school
• Current BCLS certification

Skills

• Ability to communicate effectively in English, both verbally and in writing.
• Basic computer knowledge.

Physical Demands

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to talk and hear. This position is very active and requires repetitive motions, standing, walking, bending, kneeling and stooping all day. The employee must frequently lift or move items weighing over 100 pounds.