A surgical technologist works in an operating room and typically helps an operation go smoothly by organizing and keeping things sterile while assisting the surgeon as needed.
Surgical techs are specially trained and often earn a certification to show that they can safely handle surgical instruments and understand strict sterile techniques and patient safety.
If you’re looking to hire a surgical tech, it’s important to have a great job post including a detailed job description, clear requirements, and information about benefits and compensation.
In this guide, we provide you with a surgical tech job description template, go over what should be included in each section, and more.
Surgical Tech Job Description Template
Job Summary
Our organization is searching for a surgical technologist to join us in our operating rooms. Our team is committed to maintaining a safe environment for our patients and staff. We pride ourselves on providing excellent care to our patients and cooperating well as a team.
A surgical technologist in our operating room will prepare the room and patient for surgery, maintain sterility throughout the procedure, help the surgeon access the tools and areas of the body they need, and keep the operating room organized and ready for the next surgery.
Our ideal candidate is motivated, has a positive attitude, is excited about learning, and cares about patient safety and achieving the best outcomes during surgery.
Duties & Responsibilities
- Prepare sterile surgical instruments for surgery
- Understand each surgeon's preferences for surgical tools
- Prepare patients for their operations
- Maintain sterile technique and ensure no contamination during the operation
- Hand the surgeon instruments and tools they need for surgery
- Reposition the patient during surgery
- Retract skin, muscle tissues, or organs to provide the surgeon access to the patient's body
- Apply dressings and bandages to the patient after surgery
- Keep the operating room clean and organized
- Sterilize equipment between surgical cases
Education & Other Requirements (education, experience, certifications)
- High school diploma or GED
- Surgical technologist certification (CST or TS-C preferred)
- Proof of state registration
- 1 year of operating room experience preferred
Skills
- Excellent verbal and written communication
- Organized
- Advanced knowledge of medical terminology
- Sterile technique
- Ability to lift 25 lbs
- Good manual dexterity
- Ability to stay standing for long surgeries, up to 12 hours
Languages
- English
Work Hours
- 7 am to 3 pm, Monday to Friday
- Night, evening, and weekend call shifts required
- Full-time and part-time positions are available
Benefits
- Health Insurance
- Dental Insurance
- Health promotion incentive bonuses
- Paid sick time
- Paid time off
- Annual surgical team retreat
- Surgical technologist certification reimbursement
- Retirement plan
- On-call and overtime pay with night and weekend differential
Explaining What to Include in Each Section of a Surgical Tech Job Post
A job posting is like an advertisement for your organization. An excellent job posting can help you attract the best candidates and allow you to be selective about who you choose to hire. Make sure that you set clear expectations about responsibilities, pay, and schedule requirements and that you accurately describe your facility's work environment.
Being clear about your expectations will help you find a good fit for your team and reduce future turnover or burnout.
Job Summary
A job summary should contain a quick description of the job as well as a few highlights about your team. You may want to include what qualities you are looking for in a candidate such as adaptability, communication, or organization.
Keep in mind that surgical techs are called many things, including surgical technologists, surgical technologists, and scrub techs. You may want to use these titles throughout your job posting so your job will appear no matter what term a candidate uses in their search.
Duties and Responsibilities
When creating a list of surgical tech duties and responsibilities, be clear about expectations and roles.
If possible, talk to your surgeons to find out exactly what they need from the surgical technologist. Imagine all of the tasks that you will expect your future surgical tech to accomplish, and list them here.
While a job posting should be written in a way that encourages people to apply, be clear about your expectations. Make sure you include all responsibilities including cleaning the operating room or dealing with body fluids, so that new employees are not surprised when they start working.
Education and Other Requirements
Many states require surgical technologists to have a certification and/or be registered with the state. Make sure you understand your state laws before listing your education or certification requirements.
Even in states that do not require surgical techs to earn a certification, most organizations prefer to hire techs that are already certified.
Surgical techs can earn a CST certification from the NBSTSA or a TS-C certification from the NCCT. Both are usually accepted by states that require certification.
If you only want to hire scrub techs with prior experience, list those requirements here.
Skills
Job listings can include both soft skills like communication and adaptability and hard skills like sterile technique. If you decide to interview an applicant, make sure you ask them to provide examples of how they use their skills on the job, especially those like cooperation and hard work.
Languages
Here, list whatever language will be used in the workplace. If your organization's preferred language is not the candidate's primary language, they should at least be fluent and able to communicate well.
Some facilities prefer bilingual candidates, and you may want to offer a pay raise or sign-on bonus for future surgical technologists who can demonstrate proficiency in more than one language.
Work Hours
Be extremely clear about expectations for working hours. This is the place to disclose whether or not you will accept part-time or full-time applicants and if you require technologists to work during weekends or evenings.
Most operating rooms require their staff to be on call in case of emergencies. Set clear expectations about on-call requirements including response times and on-call pay.
>> Read More: Typical Work Schedule of a Surgical Tech
Benefits
Many candidates make final job decisions based on the benefits offered by different employers. Listing unique benefits such as education reimbursement, higher-than-average pay, or great insurance can help you attract the best candidates to your organization.
>> Read More: Surgical Technologist vs. Surgical Assistant
