Changed my major to surgical tech..

Dragonnurse1, ASN, RN · Jan 3, 2004

Good for you. My hubby is scrub tech and he really likes it. Also down here the scrub techs get to assist and do hands on is surgery. The nurses step and fetch or chart only.:chuckle

sjoe · Jan 3, 2004

Sounds like an excellent choice to me.

jschut, BSN, RN · Jan 3, 2004

That's my goal.....to eventually work in surgery.

Congrats! I think it's great! :)

hbscott · Jan 3, 2004

I was a surgical technician and surgical technician instructor before I went into nursing. One of my friends (who stayed in the field) now makes more money than me by working with a Tissue and Organ Harvesting Company. I have a Masters Degree with Advanced Certification. He has his Associates in Surgical Technology.

If I could do it all over again I definitely WOULD NOT go into nursing. I am glad I pursued my Master's Degree but now the PhD work is my ticket out of nursing.

Good Luck!

luv2yoga · Jan 3, 2004

What exactly do surg techs DO? How is their role different from an RN working in the OR?

hbscott · Jan 3, 2004

Originally posted by meredithT
What exactly do surg techs DO? How is their role different from an RN working in the OR?

Surgical Technicians "scrub" cases under the supervision of the primary surgeon and "circulate" under the supervision of the room nurse. This is a gross simplification but wanted to keep my reply quick (short on time). For more information see the link below:

http://www.ast.org/

-HBS

shodobe · Jan 4, 2004

Hbscott, where is this state that Techs circulate? They don't in California and I wouldn't let them anyway. Also for this idea that RNs "fetch" and "step" in the OR is ridiculous! All the RNs that I work with scrub and circulate. hate to tell you this, we don't use Techs at all, my nurse manager won't hire them. They are to one sideed, only can scrub. Rns, on the other hand can do both if trained. Techs are an important part of a surgical team, but still come under the direction of the RN. Sorry, had to vent, didn't like the direction this was going.

DustinRN · Jan 4, 2004

I have seen surgical cases in two different hospitals during clinicals, and at both of the hospitals the RN's don't scrub in. I remember this because I told my classmate there is no way I would want to work as a surgical nurse. It appeared to me that the nurse worked under the surgical tech. I am in no way taking sides. I'm just stating what I seen in the surgical units around here. The way hbscott explains it sounds pretty much how it is around here. It seemed to me that the nurse pretty much took orders from the surgical techs on what stuff to go retrieve. From my experience with the surgical RN's around this county I prefer to stay away from that job oppurtunity.

suzanne4, RN · Jan 4, 2004

Worked as an RN in the OR for years and member of the heart team. Do not scrub hearts. There is alot of responsibility for the RN in that room as well as any others. You are not a gofer to get things. Most times you cannot leave the room. You have to keep things running smoothly, you are essentially the advocate for the patient. You make sure that no one contaminates a sterile field, especially important when you have students in the room, no matter what type. Depending on the set-up of the room, the defibrillator is either run by the RN or anesthesia. You continually need to be aware of what is happening in your room, etc.

If it something that you think that you would be interested in, please talk to the manager of your OR and see if you could go down and observe for a day. That is the best way to see if it is for you. Some hospitals only use surgical techs to scrub, and some only use RNs. But according to AORN by-laws, surgical techs do not circulate. That is done by an RN in every state.

They may have watched the room for a moment while the RN had to do something or get something but they were not in charge of the room. Or at least, legally should not be.

hbscott · Jan 4, 2004

Originally posted by shodobe
Hbscott, where is this state that Techs circulate? They don't in California and I wouldn't let them anyway. Also for this idea that RNs "fetch" and "step" in the OR is ridiculous! All the RNs that I work with scrub and circulate. hate to tell you this, we don't use Techs at all, my nurse manager won't hire them. They are to one sideed, only can scrub. Rns, on the other hand can do both if trained. Techs are an important part of a surgical team, but still come under the direction of the RN. Sorry, had to vent, didn't like the direction this was going.

No problem. I understand the issues you raised but as you noted from my post above that is how it was and is in my experience. I was a surgical technician and instructor in the military and the great state of Virginia. As I stated earlier Surgical Technicians "scrub" under the direction of the primary surgeon and circulate under the supervision of the nurse but of course most surgical technicians prefer to "scrub".

The truth of the matter is no job is perfect and I left surgical technology to become a CRNA. Right now I am sorry I went into nursing (I should have been more patient and held out for medical school) but that is proverbial water under the bridge. However all things said and done, any career should be considered carefully before committing time, money, energy and other emotional investments before taking that first step.

I can honestly say nursing (although it had its good moments now and then) was a huge disappointment which I can only attribute to long standing issues in nursing culture and nursing practice.

-HBS

hbscott · Jan 4, 2004

Originally posted by suzanne4
Some hospitals only use surgical techs to scrub, and some only use RNs. But according to AORN by-laws, surgical techs do not circulate. That is done by an RN in every state.
They may have watched the room for a moment while the RN had to do something or get something but they were not in charge of the room. Or at least, legally should not be.

That may be true in your setting but that was not my experience. Surgical Technicians "scrubbed" under the supervision of the primary surgeon and "circulated" under the supervision of the nurse. By "circulating" I mean assisting with patient positioning, room safety, estimated blood loss and other I/O's, room cleaning, etc. Circulating does not mean being in "charge" of the room.

AORN sets standards for operating room nursing but is not necessarily adopted by hospitals and states that employ surgical technicians. In some settings (like harvesting tissues and organs for example) surgical technicians don't work with nurses at all.

-HBS