Overview The Surgical Assistant provides individualized care services to patients undergoing surgical procedures under the supervision of a physician. In this position the Surgical Assistant plays a lead role in the organization and preparation for the procedure, provides for the comfort and safety of the patient pre- and post- procedure, and provides direct assistance to the Surgeon during operation. Responsibilities Directs and supervises the activities for each assigned case to ensure smooth, safe operation. Coordinates well with appropriate staff between cases and continually updates on the surgical case progress. Prevents operational delays by anticipating potential problems and coordinating with all team members through established policy and procedure. Ensures the patients are properly prepared for surgery by checking chart completeness and pre-op assessments. Informs the appropriate persons when any abnormal findings are identified during pre-op visit. Prepares operative skin, administers medication and other therapeutic proceedings and observes the patient’s response quickly notifying appropriate party of significant change. Recognizes and intervenes in life threatening emergencies, including the administration of emergency drugs, and defibrillator or other emergency treatment. Promotes physical comfort and safety in lifting and positioning patients by demonstrating the knowledge of circulatory and respiratory functioning. Eases patient's fears by providing reassurance and empathy. Alerts nursing staff if patient's fears may interfere with surgical procedure. Providing exposure, through appropriate use of instruments, retractors, suctioning, and sponging techniques. Tie sutures on fascia. Suture subcutaneous and skin tissue. Provide hemostasis, mechanical , thermal, and chemical. Follows the established protocol for obtaining, charging for, and returning supplies/equipment and maintains adequate supply levels through the use of accurate inventory control. Follows policy and procedure for handling instruments, sponges, and skin closures/sutures. Provides integration between office scheduling and operating room scheduling for more concise procedure times and any equipment requirements (to account for specific needs to adjust case time, etc.). Manage special needs items on case specific non-hospital stocked items with materials management to ensure the necessary equipment or product is available for surgical procedure. Intermediary for surgeon providing an initial new product review with a hospital approved company representative for need, cost and benefit applications. Qualifications Education / Training High School Diploma/Equivalent Experience Requirements 1-year Scrub Technician 2-years Operating Room (OR) Surgical Assistant Certificates/Licenses/Registration Certified Surgical Assistant Basic Life Support (BLS) Additional Information: BLS, provided by the American Heart Association (AHA), required within 30 days of hire.