A scrub, also called a scrub tech, surgical technician or operating room
technician, is an allied health professional working as a part of the
team delivering surgical care. They work as members of the surgical team made up
of surgeon, surgeon's assistant, circulation nurse and anesthesia
provider. They possess knowledge and skills in sterile and aseptic
techniques. There are few mandatory professional requirements for surgical
technologists, and the scope of practice varies widely across countries and
jurisdictions. Surgical technologists attend junior colleges and technical
schools, and many are trained in military schools. In the military they
perform the duties of both the circulator and the scrub. The bulk of
training is done in the operating room, and they are trained by giving them
progressively more difficult surgical cases to scrub, until they are able to
scrub all types of surgical procedures. This can take a few years. The goal is
for surgical technologists to be able to anticipate the next move the surgeon is
going to make in order to make the procedure as smooth and efficient as
possible. They do this by having the knowledge of hundreds of surgical
procedures and the steps the surgeon needs to take in order to complete the
procedure including the very wide range of surgical instruments they may need.
Specialties can include but are not limited to the following - GU / ObGyn,
urology, ENT, plastics, general, orthopedics, neurology, and
cardiovascular. With only a minimum of education they are very specialized
professionals. Common Tasks
= United States = In the United States, surgical
technologists are certified and work under the supervision of a surgeon,
registered nurse, or other surgical personnel, to help ensure that the
operating room or environment is safe, that equipment functions properly, and
that the operative procedure is conducted under conditions that maximize
patient safety. They handle the instruments, scrubs, medications, and
other supplies and equipment necessary during the surgical procedure. They
perform basic tasks such as checking patients' medical charts and consent
forms, and preparing sterile dressings. Surgical Technologists also train other
OR personnel such as new technologists and new circulating RNs.
= Mozambique = In Mozambique, they provide advanced
surgical services, often working autonomously in the absence of a
physician. In other countries, professions with similar titles include
'Clinical officers', 'Clinical associates', or 'Assistant Medical
Officers', but which can mean different things subject to local circumstances.
Employment Most surgical technicians — about 60
percent in the United States — work in hospitals, mainly in operating and
delivery rooms. Surgical technicians also deal with equipment, such as
handling a C-arm fluoroscope in angioplasty and orthopedics and many
other departments as well. A surgical technician with experience in multiple
situations is preferred. Other jobs are in offices of physicians or dentists who
perform outpatient surgery and in outpatient care centers, including
ambulatory surgery centers. In the US, depending on the role and employment
setting, they may go by different titles including Scrub Surgical Technologist or
Circulating Surgical Technologist. A few technologists in private practice are
employed directly by surgeons who have special surgical teams, such as those
for liver transplants. Career prospects for surgical
technologists are expected to grow in the coming years. According to the US
Bureau for Labor Statistics, employment of surgical technologists is expected to
grow in that country by 19 percent by 2020, faster than the average for all
occupations. This trend is related to the expected rise in the number of
surgical procedures performed, as the population grows and ages. Older people,
including the baby boom generation, who generally require more surgical
procedures, will account for a larger portion of the general population. In
addition, technological advances, such as fiber optics, laser and robotic
technology, will permit an increasing number of new surgical procedures to be
performed and also will allow surgical technologists to scrub with a greater
number of procedures. History
= United States = The role of the Surgical Technologist
began on the battlefields in World War I and World War II when the United States
Army used "medics" to work under the direct supervision of the surgeon.
Concurrently, medical "corpsman" were used in the United States Navy aboard
combat ships. Nurses were not allowed on the battlefield or aboard combat ships
at the time. This led to a new profession within the military called
operating room technicians. With many medical personnel overseas or
performing duties in military hospitals, an accelerated nursing program with
emphasis only on operating room technology was set up as an on-the-job
training of nursing assistants who worked in the surgery department. These
individuals studied sterilization of instruments and how to care for the
patient in the operating room. Techniques, sutures, draping and
instrumentation were emphasized; they also had to do clinical time in labor
and delivery and the emergency room. After the Korean War there were
shortages of operating room nurses. Operating room supervisors began to
recruit ex-medics and ex-corpsmen to work in civilian hospitals. These
ex-military men functioned as circulators in the operating room while
the scrub role or "instrument nurse" role was performed by the registered
nurse. It was not until 1965 that these roles were reversed.
In 1967, the Association of periOperative Registered Nurses
published a book titled Teaching the Operating Room Technician. In 1968, the
AORN Board of Directors created the Association of Operating Room
Technicians. The AORT formed two committees in 1969, the Liaison Council
on Certification for the Surgical Technologist or LCC-ST and the Joint
Committee on Education. The first certification examination was given in
1970, and those that passed the certification examination were given a
new title: Certified Operating Room Technician.
In 1973, AORT became independent of AORN and changed the title of the position to
what it is today, Surgical Technologist. The AORT also changed their name to the
Association of Surgical Technologists. In 1974, an accreditation body was
established to ensure quality education. The programs accredited by ARC/STSA are
monitored for compliance with the standards. The ARC/STSA and AST board of
directors recommends the associate degree as entry level surgical
technology education. Today, surgical technologists taking and
passing the national certification examination designed by the NBSTSA earn
the title of "Certified Surgical Technologist". Certification can be
renewed by contact hours or re-examination. Laws for surgical
technologists vary by state and many states are in various stages of
legislation. Some require certification, some require state registration, and
some have no laws at all. = Mozambique =
Surgical technologists were introduced around 1984 in the aftermath of a long
civil war that had crippled the health sector.
They are trained to provide comprehensive medical and surgical care,
filling a gap created by the shortage of surgeons, especially in rural areas.
They do obstetric and emergency surgery and traumatology and are also the
administrators at district-level hospitals.
It is estimated that surgical technologists perform 90 percent of all
obstetric surgeries in the country. Training, certification and professional
organizations = United States =
Educationally, surgical technologists graduate from surgical technology
programs accredited through the Commission on Accreditation of Allied
Health Education Programs, which relies on information on a program gathered by
a collaborative effort of the Association of Surgical Technologists
and the American College of Surgeons. The CAAHEP is a recognized accreditation
agency of the Council for Higher Education Accreditation. In addition,
surgical technology programs are located in educational institutions that are
institutionally accredited by agencies recognized by the United States
Department of Education or The Joint Commission. The ARC/STSA is also a
member of the Association of Specialized and Professional Accreditors.
The following statement was developed by the American College of Surgeons’
Committee on Perioperative Care, and approved by the ACS Board of Regents at
its June 2005 meeting. This statement was subsequently approved by the
Association of Surgical Technologists, American Society of Anesthesiologists,
American Association of Surgical Physician Assistants, American
Association of Nurse Anesthetists, and American Society of PeriAnesthesia
Nurses. Surgical technologists are individuals
with specialized education who function as members of the surgical team in the
role of scrub person. With additional education and training, some surgical
technologists function in the role of surgical first assistant. Surgical
technology programs are inspected by the Accreditation Review Committee on
Education in Surgical Technology—a collaborative effort of the Association
of Surgical Technologists and the American College of Surgeons, under the
auspices of the Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education
Programs. Accredited programs provide both didactic education and supervised
clinical experience based on a core curriculum for surgical technology.
Accredited programs may be offered in community and junior colleges,
vocational and technical schools, the military, universities, and structured
hospital programs in surgical technology. The accredited programs vary
from nine to 15 months for a diploma or certificate to two years for an
associates degree, which is the preferred entry level but not required.
Graduates of accredited surgical technology programs are eligible for
certification by the National Board of Surgical Technology and Surgical
Assisting, an administratively independent body from the Association of
Surgical Technologists consisting of representative Certified Surgical
Technologists, a surgeon, and the public.
The American College of Surgeons strongly supports adequate education and
training of all surgical technologists, supports the accreditation of all
surgical technology educational programs, and supports examination for
certification of all graduates of accredited surgical technology
educational programs. The professional organization for
surgical technologists is the Association of Surgical Technologists.
Its primary purpose is to ensure that surgical technologists have the
knowledge and skills to administer quality patient care and is the
principal provider in conjunction with more than 40 state organizations of
continuing education for surgical technologists. However, certifications
are also available from the NBSTSA, the National Center for Competency Testing,
and the National Healthcare Association. These are the Certified Surgical
Technologist credential, the Tech in Surgery-Certified credential, and the
Certified Operating Room and Surgical Technician credential, respectively.
A Certified Surgical Technician must earn sixty credits to renew their
credential with the NBSTSA. It is a two step process to renew 1) Submit
Continuing Education Credits to the Association of Surgical Technology and
2) Submit the appropriate renewal form to the NBSTSA with the correct renewal
fee. NBSTSA renew a certification every four
years. The renewal application must be submitted six months before the
expiration date. The expiration date is printed on the certification card or
certificate. To renew a Certified Surgical Technician credential is
important to delivering the best care possible for the surgical patient.
= Mozambique = In Mozambique, surgical technologists
first qualify as clinical officers then, after working for at least three years,
they complete another three-year program that focuses on obstetrics, traumatology
and emergency medicine. The first two years involve supervised
surgical training under senior surgeons at Maputo Central Hospital followed by
an internship year at a provincial hospital.
Surgical technologists perform routine and emergency surgery autonomously,
often working in hospitals that do not have surgically qualified physicians.
See also Allied health professions
Assistant Medical Officer Clinical associates
Media related to Surgical technologist at Wikimedia Commons
Gallery References
^ a b c d US Bureau of Labor Statistics. Occupational Outlook Handbook, 2010-11
Edition - Surgical Technologists. Accessed 5-Mar-2011.
^ a b Cumbi A et al. "Major surgery delegation to mid-level health
practitioners in Mozambique: health professionals' perceptions." Human
Resources for Health; 2007, 5:27 doi:10.1186/1478-4491-5-27
^ "Surgical Technician Job Description". Surgicaltech.net. Retrieved 2013-07-02.
^ "American College of Surgeons". Facs.org. Retrieved 2012-01-02.
^ a b c d Association of Surgical Technologists. Accessed 5-Mar-2011.
^ "National Board of Surgical Technology and Surgical Assisting". Nbstsa.org.
Retrieved 2012-01-02. ^ Kruk ME et al. "Human resource and
funding constraints for essential surgery in district hospitals in Africa:
a retrospective cross-sectional survey." PLoS Medicine, 2010; 7(3): e1000242.
doi:10.1371/journal.pmed.1000242 ^ "Commission on Accreditation of Allied
Health Education Programs". Caahep.org. Retrieved 2012-01-02.
^ "Council for Higher Education Accreditation". CHEA. Retrieved
2012-01-02. ^ American College of Surgeons. Revised
Statement on surgical technology training and certification. Accessed 6
April 2011. ^ "Surgical Tech Certification".
Surgical Tech. Retrieved 2013-07-10. ^ "The world health report 2003: shaping
the future". Geneva, WHO: World Health Organization. 2003.
External links Accreditation Review Council on
Education in Surgical Technology and Surgical Assisting
American College of Surgeons Association of Surgical Technologists
Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs
Council for Higher Education Accreditation
Mayo Clinic School for Health Science National Board of Surgical Technology
and Surgical Assisting U.S. Bureau for Labor Statistics