Certified Surgical First Assist PRN, Periop Float Pool

Vanderbilt University Medical Center•Nashville, TN

3d•Onsite

About The Position

The Certified Surgical First Assist performs in the expanded role as a CST First Assistant to the Surgeon, by performing positioning, prepping and draping of patient, providing hemostasis, providing wound exposure and handling of sutures and tissue under the direction and supervision of the operating surgeon. May perform as a Surgical Technologists when not First Assisting. This role is PRN and part of the Perioperative Services department, which is a multi-disciplinary department with over 800 employees. The department encompasses various areas, including Operating Rooms and Main Campus Intraoperative Service Lines such as Cardiovascular/Transplant (Heart & Lung), OR Float Pool, General Surgery/Transplant (Kidney, Liver, & Pancreas) Black Team, GYN Surgery, Neurosurgery, Nights/Evenings/Weekends, Orthopedics, Otolaryngology/Bronchoscopy, Urology/Robotics (OR Gold Team), and Medical Center East. Vanderbilt Health is the region’s largest comprehensive academic health system with eight hospitals and over 180 clinics, committed to providing world-class care, education, and research.

Requirements

Graduate of an approved specific discipline OR successful completion of a surgical assistant training program during the applicant's service as a member of any branch of the armed forces of the United States.
Minimum 3 years of relevant work experience.
Registration with the Tennessee Board of Medical Examiners.
Certification from one of the listed issuers below: CSFA - Certified Surgical First Assistant - National Board of Surgical Technology and Surgical Assisting (NBSTSA) CSA - Certified Surgical Assistant - National Surgical Assistant Association (NSAA) CSA- Certified Surgical Assistant - National Commission for Certification of Surgical Assistants (NCCSA) SA-C- Surgical Assistant-Certified - American Board of Surgical Assistants (ABSA)

Nice To Haves

Certification from one of the listed issuers below: NBSTSA CST – National Board of Surgical Technologist and Surgical Assistants, Certified Surgical Technologist. NCCT – TS-C – National Center for Competency Testing, Tech In Surgery.

Responsibilities

Acts as a member of the operating room team by assisting with the room preparation, setup and clean up.
Assist with the opening of sterile items needed for the procedure.
Identifies and obtains special items needed for the procedures.
Assists with proper room cleanup/turnover.
Assist with patient positioning to provide access to the operative site while maximizing patient safety and comfort. Points of pressure shall be padded: elbows, heels, knees, etc. Circulation shall not be impaired. Postoperatively, the patient shall be evaluated for any possible damage related to positioning, which shall be included in the SICU assessment. Any abnormalities reported to the surgeon and treatment and documentation shall be carried out.
Establish and maintain a surgically clean environment to reduce the potential for patient infection through the application of the principals of asepsis.
Maintain a sterile field to reduce the potential for infection
Demonstrates knowledge of the principles of decontamination, disinfection, sanitation and sterilization and applies these principles to reduce infection potential.
Continually monitors environmental factors that may challenge the integrity of the sterile field.
Teaches the importance of aseptic technique and continual monitoring of the sterile field to less experiences staff members.
Initiate appropriate intra operative behaviors unique to first assisting.
Applies knowledge of surgical anatomy, physiology, and operative technique relative to operative procedures.
Performs positioning, prepping and draping of patient.
Provides hemostasis by clamping blood vessels, coagulating bleeding points, ligating vessels, and by other means as directed by the surgeon.
Provides exposure through appropriate use of instruments, retractors, suctioning and sponging techniques.
Handles tissue and sutures all varieties of tissue with the appropriate suture materials and suturing techniques as directed by the surgeon.
Performs First Assist interventions under the direction and supervision of the operating surgeon.