Surgical Assistants

Also Called:

Certified Surgical First Assistant (CSFA),

Registered Nurse First Assistant (RNFA),

Surgical First Assistant,

Surgical Technician (Surgical Tech)

What they do: Assist in operations, under the supervision of surgeons. May, in accordance with state laws, help surgeons to make incisions and close surgical sites, manipulate or remove tissues, implant surgical devices or drains, suction the surgical site, place catheters, clamp or cauterize vessels or tissue, and apply dressings to surgical site.

Healthcare & Human Services icon

Healthcare & Human Services

Career Cluster

What do they typically do on the job?

  • Verify the identity of patient or operative site.
  • Monitor and maintain aseptic technique throughout procedures.
  • Cover patients with surgical drapes to create and maintain a sterile operative field.

Personality

People interested in this work like activities that include practical, hands-on problems and solutions.

Perseverance

Stress Tolerance

Self-Control

Cooperation

Cautiousness

Integrity

Interests

Career interests describe the perspectives and interests of people who enjoy the type of work involved in this career.

Discover what your interests are by taking the Interest Profiler Quiz

See Related Jobs

Realistic

See Related Jobs

Conventional

See Related Jobs

Social

Abilities

Whether you have received formal training or not, these types of abilities are helpful in this career.

Hand and Finger Use

  • Keep your arm or hand steady

  • Put together small parts with your fingers

Verbal

  • Listen and understand what people say

  • Communicate by speaking

Ideas and Logic

  • Notice when problems happen

  • Order or arrange things

Attention

  • Pay attention to something without being distracted

Skills

People who want to pursue this career have skills in these areas.

Basic Skills

  • Listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions

  • Talking to others

Problem Solving

  • Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it

Social

  • Changing what is done based on other people's actions

  • Looking for ways to help people

Does this sound like something you'd like to do?

1. Do some research

  • Identify how your interests, values, and strengths match this occupation
  • Talk to someone who works in this field or spend a day job shadowing
  • Use the colleges and training directory to explore programs related to this career

2. Plan your next move

  • Talk to your college and career counselor or school admissions staff
  • Visit Idaho Launch
  • Search for available Surgical Assistants jobs on Idaho Works

Data for NSI career cards comes from the following: Idaho Department of Labor, US Bureau of Labor Statistics, O*NET, MyNextMove, and Career OneStop