Surg Tech

KC CHICK · Feb 21, 2002

I agree...I'd also like to know where surg techs are making 40K/year!!! Starting salary for surg techs are about 4-5 dollars less an hour than a new grad nurse. Assist the anesthesia personnel???? How do they expect to do that when they're scrubbed in getting the back table ready for the case? Duh.

Giving meds and fluids...yeah they do that, but, they don't have passcodes into the pyxis. The RNs get the drugs and fluids and pass to the techs to use during the case. CIRCULATE??! As far as I know, only an RN is qualified to circulate the OR. We have responsibility for the patient.

So, I guess, the only thing on this list that is absolutely true is that surg techs scrub in for the case and pass instruments.

Where on earth did you find this article?

Anne

meandragonbrett · Feb 21, 2002

Anne,

hey, It was in some magazine that was sent to me! It was crazy! I told my mom about it (She's a RN) and she said "Sign me up!" LoL It's crazy. Our Surg. Techs aren't allowed to give meds or fluids at all, hospital policy they would rather a RN do it for liability purposes. I would LOVE, absoutly LOVE to hear what a Scrubbed surg tech does for Anesthesia! Maybe they watch the induction?? :-P We have our own anesthesia techs that make sure everything is working and they keep the anesthesia cart and tray stocked but anesthesia has to pull their own drugs. That article is wild!

Talk Later,

brett

MickeymomRN · Feb 21, 2002

What is the magazine called? Was it an ad for help wanted from a hospital or an article advertising about STs?

I agree with everything already posted. You should check out my other posts about the OR and Surg techs. STs can only assist the circulator in circulating but an RN must be supervising. Passing meds is only to be done by a legally authorized care provider. As far as I know, law says only RNs and MDs. Not even LPNs, I don't think. And I do know that there are some surg techs out there that are making 60,000/yr as a "personal" or private scrub. Those are hard to come by. I've never seen a ST assist the anesthesia staff except clean their instruments.

Where did you get this info? Or are you trying to get us all riled up?:roll

meandragonbrett · Feb 21, 2002

Mickey,

I'm not trying to get you guys riled up :roll It was an article in a magazine that is sent to TONS of HS students trying to get them interested into medicine. It was a career profile thing. I thought it was funny and just thought I would check to see about your hospitals. I need to go.

TTYL,

brett

btw-if i'm not mistaken LPN's can give meds as long as their not Pushes, right? I think I saw that somewhere, but we don't have LPN's in the OR.

MickeymomRN · Feb 22, 2002

Hey,Brett!

I know you weren't getting us all riled up. I just wanted a reason to use the :roll . LOL. You didn't mention which magazine that was. Was it one only distributed in the schools? At least no one paid for it just to have bad info in it.

As for the LPNs, I know some can and some can't. The only LPNs I know that work in the ORs are used for scrubs. And they don't pass any meds either.

meandragonbrett · Feb 22, 2002

Anne HEY!

What's up? nothing much here. jUSt a day out of school!! NO, it wasn't something that my school gave out, it's something that was sent to me in the mail. I figured it was just a bunch of garbage but thought that I would read it anyways. There are some more of the career profiles that i want to look at just to see how mixed up those guys are with their information! HAH~ I'm gonna go for now. will talk later

later,

brett