The primary role of this position is to ensure quality patient care during surgical procedures by managing instruments, supplies, and equipment. This includes both direct and indirect scrub duties for surgical procedures and support in the sterilization, cleaning, and decontamination of surgical equipment. The ideal candidate must anticipate the surgeon’s needs, maintain a sterile environment, and adhere to departmental, AORN standards, and hospital-wide policies. They must also contribute to infection prevention efforts, ensuring strict aseptic techniques are followed.

Responsibilities:

• Surgical Scrub Duties:
• Act as a primary scrub person, handling instruments, supplies, and equipment during surgical procedures.
• Anticipate the surgeon’s needs and ensure proper setup for procedures.
• Maintain an orderly and sterile field throughout the surgical procedure, adhering to departmental policies, AORN standards, and aseptic techniques.
• Accurately perform sponge, sharp, and instrument counts according to policy.
• Secure necessary equipment and supplies based on patient needs and procedures.
• Precept and orient new personnel and students.
• Ensure the sterile field is maintained and immediately report/remove any broken or unsafe equipment.
• Accurately label and manage medications on the sterile field.
• Provide age-specific care, ensuring safety and quality during the procedure.
• Actively participate in performance improvement activities and departmental meetings.
• Assist in troubleshooting and demonstrating equipment use.
• Sterile Processing and Decontamination:
• Receive, decontaminate, clean, disinfect, prepare, assemble, package, sterilize, and store medical equipment and supplies.
• Inspect items for contamination before sterilization and ensure effective sterilization by following recommended parameters.
• Operate sterilizers and related equipment, maintaining accurate records of chemical, mechanical, and biological results.
• Perform care of non-critical equipment, including cleaning, inspecting, storing, and issuing to nursing units.
• Assemble instrument sets without error, ensuring that the correct instruments and supplies are available for procedures.
• Restock and maintain Crash Carts with 100% inventory control compliance.
• Advise hospital staff on the availability and correct use of sterile supplies.
• Enforce and adhere to aseptic techniques and universal precautions, playing a key role in preventing hospital cross-infection.
• General Duties:
• Ensure a safe environment for both staff and patients by adhering to safety standards and guidelines.
• Regularly attend departmental meetings and engage with peers, physicians, and leadership to improve overall team performance.
• Provide healthcare services at the best value without compromising patient care quality.

Qualifications:

• Knowledge of anatomy, physiology, and medical terminology for proper case preparation and procedure support.
• Experience with surgical instruments, equipment, and sterilization techniques.
• Strong ability to follow directions and work effectively in a team environment.
• Adherence to infection control standards and safety protocols.
• Ability to demonstrate care for both reusable and non-critical equipment.

Both roles require a high school diploma or equivalent, as well as a deep understanding of sterile techniques and infection control. Some common skills:

• Sterile Field Knowledge: Both CST/ST and CSPDT/SPT are responsible for maintaining and ensuring the sterility of medical instruments and the environment.
• Attention to Detail: Precision is vital in both roles to ensure proper surgical procedures and patient safety.
• Knowledge of Surgical Instruments: Both roles require familiarity with surgical tools and their proper handling, but from different perspectives (CST/ST uses them in/out of surgery, CSPDT/SPT cleans and prepares them).

1.  Sterile Techniques & Surgical Preparation:

• CST: You assist directly or indirectly in surgeries, maintaining sterile fields, passing instruments, and ensuring that the surgical team is ready and equipped.
• SPT: You focus on cleaning, sterilizing, and organizing surgical instruments before procedures. You ensure the tools are ready for use and meet strict infection control standards.
• Merge: Combine your expertise in maintaining sterile environments for surgery (CST/ST) with preparing, cleaning, and sterilizing surgical tools (CSPDT/SPT). This makes you an asset in both settings, showing that you're capable of both pre-operative preparation and intra-operative assistance.

2.  Certification & Continuous Learning:

• Both roles require certification:
• CST: Certification from the National Association of Surgical Technologists (CST).
• SPT: Certification from the Certification Board for Sterile Processing and Distribution (CSPDT).
• Merge: You can pursue certifications for both roles, which would demonstrate flexibility and a broader skill set. If you’re working in a hospital or surgical setting, this could make you an even more valuable team member.

3.   Professional Experience:

• Highlight your knowledge of surgical instruments, surgical procedures, and infection control standards from both roles. If you’ve worked in one of these positions before, mention how you helped prepare for surgeries as a Sterile Processing Tech, and then actively participated as a Surgical Tech in the operating room.
• Merge the experience in a way that shows you can handle both sterile instrument preparation and active involvement in surgeries, making you adaptable and skilled in multiple aspects of surgical procedures.