Overview

Welcome to the U.S. Air Force Academy and thank you for your interest in becoming an integral part of our team! You'll have the opportunity to become part of the wonderful experience of preparing more than 4,000 cadets for careers as Air Force leaders. The mission requires everyone's effort to succeed -- officers, enlisted Airmen, civilian employees, contractors and family members. As a part of the Academy, you will help prepare our future leaders by serving as a role model both on and off duty. You will set the example through your performance on the job, your appearance, your attitude and your conduct. You may also chose to become involved with cadets, because your participation is important to their personal and professional development. Your involvement can take many forms: attending intramural, club, and intercollegiate activities, coming to lectures presented by guest speakers, becoming a squadron participant and, if eligible, by becoming a cadet sponsor. While you're here, you can take advantage of our extensive recreational facilities, which are among the finest in the Air Force. We offer a wide range of seasonal programs to help make Colorado and its seasons enjoyable for our base community.

Working for the Department of Defense comes with an abundance of benefits and perks to include competitive compensation packages, paid-time off, medical benefits, student loan repayments, and retirement package with Thrift Savings Plan to include matching employer contributions. For more information, please visit the following link: https://www.usajobs.gov/Help/working-in-government/benefits/

Responsibilities

The purpose of this position is to serve as a paraprofessional member of the surgical team in the performance of scrub and/or circulating Operating Room duties with primary emphasis in one or more surgical specialties. The incumbent performs surgical technician duties in support of the Operating Room Service by providing support for surgical procedures ranging from routine (e.g., appendectomy, myringotomy, herniography, etc.) to complex, to high risk (e.g., thoracic, cardiovascular, orthopedic, obstetric), or trauma (multi-system involvement due to motor vehicle accidents, gunshots, knife wounds, ligament and nerve reconstruction, bowel resections, joint replacements ) cases. The incumbent provides appropriate health care to all age groups (infants, child, adolescent, adult, and geriatric) served by the Operating Room. Position rotates all shifts, weekends, and holidays.MAJOR DUTIES:1. Patient Preparation: Transports patients from hospital units to the Operating Room assuring safe transportation of the patient. Screens patient prior to transport to ensure pre-operative medications have been given, jewelry, dentures and any prosthetic devices have been removed. Checks patient chart and identification band for completeness. Comforts patients fearing surgery. Positions or assist positioning patient and draping the patient for the specific procedure. Secures patient as required. Follows pre-operative nursing care plan in preparing patient and Operating Room. May be required to shave the operative site.2. Scrub Technician: As a scrub technician, selects, assembles, and organizes required supplies, equipment, and instruments for specific surgical procedure in accordance with operative work sheets, physician preference cards and/or conferring with physicians or charge nurse. Hands instruments to the surgeon during the procedure by anticipating the surgeon's needs. Maintains alertness for complications developing during surgery such as hemorrhage, shock and cardiac arrest and immediately supplies instruments, drugs, and supplies to correct the condition. Takes sponge, instrument, and sharp counts; measures blood and fluid loss. Assists with application of dressings. Surgical assistant actively engages in the manipulation of tissue with the proper instruments both intuitively by previous experience and by direction of the surgeon to facilitate and make possible the successful completion of the given procedure.3. Circulator: As a circulator, obtains sterile supplies, sutures, dressings, linens, etc., for the specific procedure; opens instrument sets, pours solutions, sets up and adjust equipment such as electric coagulator, electric bone saw, operating microscope, air power drills, defibrillators and resuscitators; makes suction connections and adjusts operating lights. Assists anesthetist during induction and throughout surgical procedure. Obtains supplies needed during surgery such as blood, drugs, solutions, instruments, and additional sterile supplies; prepares specimens for laboratory; properly labels specimens; takes specimens to the laboratory; records designated data on patient log, documents appropriate information in intraoperative nursing record. Responsible for aseptic techniques maintenance during the process of preparing for and assisting in the surgical procedure.4. Operating Room Maintenance:a. Cleans operating room after surgery, removes and disposes of soiled and/or contaminated materials; changes linen; washes, disassembles, sterilizes, and reassembles instruments. Removes gross contamination, soil, blood, tissue fragments, body fluids by wiping, soaking, rinsing, scrubbing, and operates various kind of equipment such as ultrasonic cleaner and washer sterilizers. Replenishes sterile packs and general supplies and restocks shelves after taking stock level inventory. Required to perform medical supply technician duties on a routine basis. In the absence of housekeeping personnel, mops and disinfects all equipment in the operating room suites. Sets up and performs first echelon maintenance on all operating room equipment.b. Selects appropriate methods for sterilizing, balancing time constraints with possible detrimental effects of quicker methods. Tests operation of equipment daily to ensure effectiveness and parameters of sterilization are met. Removes items from pre-sterilizers and reassembles trays by size and sets based on inventory needs and instrument sets card. Arranges instruments in the trays in the correct manner. Removes items from sterilizers; inspects packages for indications of proper sterilization, aerating packages, labeling items to show date of sterilization, load number and shelf life. Stores items in such a way to preserve the sterile condition. Assembles operating room carts according to the schedule. Required to clean all autoclaves in the section on weekends, run spore test daily, and keep documentation in records in compliance with Joint Commission Accreditation Hospital Organization and Infection Control Standards and as Quality Assurance for patient safety and tracking mechanisms.c. Required to be in charge of one of two operating room suites during weekend, evening, and night shifts when there is only one operating room nurse on duty and when the nurse may be called to different location (e.g., Labor and Delivery).d. Orients and trains newly assigned personnel and students; explains operating room procedures and requirements; identifies and explains use of surgical instruments and equipment, sterilization techniques and aseptic procedures. Gives and receives in-service training in new technology, equipment, instruments, and new techniques.Performs other duties as assigned.

Qualifications