Life in operating room (OR) is quiet demanding and can be hectic sometime with life-threatening emergencies occur despite of careful preparations. Surgical technologist is considered as one of the key member of the team, so he or she must anticipate the need of surgeons and the patients in order to ensure that each operation goes as smoothly as possible.
Here are the tasks a surgical technologist must perform and be prepared for with every surgery:
Preoperative: Sterile Hands.
The surgical technologist is the first person to enter the OR before surgery. During this preoperative phase the surgical technologist adheres closely to the following routine:
- Gathers all of the surgical tools and equipment that the surgery requires.
- Begins to sterilize and prepare the room.
- Carefully dons his or her operating room attire, including scrubs
Sterilizes, counts and carefully arranges them. - The most important part of this preoperative phase is creating and maintaining the OR’s sterile environment.
Intraoperative: The Third Hand.
During the intraoperative phase of the surgery, surgical technologists are still responsible for maintaining the sterility of the OR, but they also effectively become a “third hand” to the surgeon and surgeon’s assistant during the procedure and perform the following tasks.
- Passes the surgical tools to the surgeon and surgical assistant during the operation.
- Assist in retracting tissues from the patient
- Help prepare medications and administer them to the patient
Thinking-On-Your-Feet: Cell Phones in the OR.
Surgical technologist aren’t expected to work miracles, they must be active enough to think quickly on their feet in the emergency situations. During a recent hospital blackout and emergency generator failure, one quick-thinking surgical technologist, with the help of the patient’s family member, rounded up enough cell phones to illuminate the OR while surgeons completed an emergency appendectomy.
Leave a Reply