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Discussion

Surgical Tech.

Can someone give me some detail on this profession. I just recommended it to someone else with what little info I have about it myself. It seems like a pretty good profession. Will studying surgical tech. in school benefit someone going on for nursing? In other words, do nurses do any of the work that a surgical tech. might do?

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I don't know much about it, either, but I think it is a safe bet to say that nurses may do many of the skills that surgical techs do.

  • Experts

There's more career mobility in nursing.

For example, I have known more than a few LPNs and RNs who have worked in the surgical suites or operating room as surgical scrub technicians and first assistants in surgery. If these nurses ever tire of working in surgery, they can move on to med/surg, ER, orthopedics, or any number of specialties.

If a surgical tech ever tires of working in surgery, they are basically stuck working in the operating room unless they retrain for a whole new career pathway.

The surgical tech is typically the assistant who passes instruments, sets up the operating room, and is in charge of the sterile field. Also known as scrub nurse or scrub tech. Some states allow surgical techs to circulate in the OR and with further training becoming certified first assistants. The scrub role can be interchangeable with LPN/LVNs and RNs, however many employers prefer to use techs because of cost and the certified surgical techs (CSTs) who have attended accredited programs are very well trained. If a surgical tech wishes to continue to become an OR nurse he/she would have a great benefit. ST schools also teach in depth A&P that would be help towards nursing. Other than that it is very different. This is based the info that I've gathered from my husband being in a ST program. Please feel free to correct or add to it. The Assocation of Surgical Technologists (AST) has a good website.

I would love to be a scrub nurse. My facility uses LPNs to do this, but they must really love it, because there has not been any openings for YEARS.

I was a certified surgical tech. I obtained my diploma from a community college and took the CST exam. A few years later I decided to become a RN/BSN and very little of my CST training transferred to the university...

However, now as an OR nurse I truly appreciate my CST training :)

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