weird surgical tech questions!!

I go to the bathroom before I scrub into any case whether I need to go or not. And it doesn't matter what the case it because I've seen a quick knee scope take WAAAY longer than it should. As for being relieved and getting a breaK it depends. At my facility, scrubs are not scrubbed out for a break. We get our break between cases. We also don't get scrubbed out of primary joints, revisions, or backs unless it is absolutely necessary. The risk for infection is just too high.

No, you don't get to care for the patient in recovery. The people who work in recovery are RNs with critical care experience. As for emergency, there is typically a call team that will handle that. We rotate call so every 13 weekend we are the call team.

Thank you guys very much for your input!!

Hey what's up? I'm a Certified Surgical Tech at a level 1 trauma center in St. Louis, MO. I'm on the general, burn and plastic surgery team. I've been a CST for 2 1/2 years.

Let's see....

1. Oh no not the depends haha. If I know I'm going to be in a long case and there is a big chance nobody will get me out I'll always take a quick restroom break.

2. I went to CC and all they offered was a certificate. The for-profit colleges in the area all offered degrees. The job market here doesn't distinguish between techs that have a certificate and techs who have a degree. In St. Louis you can have your certificate and can work in the hospital, surgery center, private office and organ procurement. You can also become a sales rep (I was offered a position with Stryker and know a tech that works for Smith and Nephew). I would recommend doing research in your job market to see what most places prefer.

3. Yes. We usually get a break in the morning and lunch. If we are in a long case in the morning or our float team is swamped we skip break and get a hour lunch.

4. Nope. Once the patient is wheeled out we help turnover the room and get ready for the next case.

5. At my hospital we have an ortho/neuro specialty team that handles all of the ortho trauma and neuro trauma/emergencies. If its an emergency that affects any other part of the body than any other tech, whether you're general, GU, ENT, etc, can get reassigned to scrub the emergency. So far in my career I've been in about 5 emergent situations.

Thank you for your input BSNBro, very insightful!!!

Hi there,

My responses are only from my personal experience. To answer your questions:

• By law, you are entitled to a break, but amount and timing varies based on your state labor laws. I recommend looking into this. I've worked in places where these rules are not always followed. Where I work now (in Washington state), we consistently receive breaks in the appropriate amount of time. Your schedule will vary during the day so it's hard to tell when you might be able to squeeze in your own break. Some surgeries (or "cases" as we call them) may only last 15-30 minutes, while some could last (although rare) 12 hours or more. It depends on the facility and the speciality.

• The surgical techs I have worked with in the past completed their degree prior to employment. Receiving your certification is recommended and will make you more marketable.

• Your direct patient care will be limited to only the OR. You may have the opportunity to help before induction, but your main focus during this time will be your set up and preparation. After surgery, unless you're required to stay sterile (which is the policy at some facilities) you might be able to help but mostly under the direction of the circulator and the Anesthesiologist or CRNA.

• Emergency surgeries are inevitable even if you don't work at a trauma center. For example, something as simple as a tonsillectomy can result in a hemorrhage and an emergency return to the OR. It's something that you should prepare for and expect.

Hope that helps!

Thank you so much!!! Found a couple of surg tech programs i am looking into!!