Oral Surgery Assistant, Oral Surgery

St. Luke's University Health Network•Easton, PA

About The Position

St. Luke's is proud of the skills, experience and compassion of its employees. The employees of St. Luke's are our most valuable asset! Individually and together, our employees are dedicated to satisfying the mission of our organization which is an unwavering commitment to excellence as we care for the sick and injured; educate physicians, nurses and other health care providers; and improve access to care in the communities we serve, regardless of a patient's ability to pay for health care. The Oral Surgery Assistant is responsible for assisting the Oral Surgeons in the clinical treatment of patients and for infection control efforts for oral surgery practice as directed by oral surgeon. This includes ensuring the availability and use of protective wear for all patients and employees; maintaining instruments and equipment; overseeing sterilization and waste management issues. The intent of this job description is to provide a summary of the major duties and responsibilities of this position and shall not be considered as a detailed description of all the work requirements that may be inherent in the position.

Requirements

High School degree or equivalent required.
BLS/CPR: Current or within 60 days of hire; through the American Red Cross or American Heart Association
X-Ray certification: Current or within 60 days of hire.

Nice To Haves

Graduates of an accredited American Dental Association program and/or coursework in dental instruments and procedures are strongly preferred.
Preferred: Three years' experience in oral surgery office/dental office.
Customer service experience is strongly preferred.
DAANCE (Dental Anesthesia Assistant National Certification)

Responsibilities

Greet patients upon arrival and direct patients to and from operatory.
Ensures X-ray is current and of good diagnostic quality, shows entire tooth and root and was taken no more than 12 months before visit and take X-Rays and Cone-Beam CT scans as necessary
Review and update medical history, record patient’s blood pressure, oxygen saturation, pulse, and anesthesia for surgical cases as required.
Ensure operatories are properly set-up for procedures.
Check to ensure that operatories, units, and clinical areas are stocked, cleaned, and disinfected after each patient and procedure.
Perform clinical procedures such as, hooking patient up to monitors, removing patient from monitors, and assist with removing IV’s.
At all times show care and concern for patients, ask about position in chair and attend to patient while in surgery and recovering.
Give patient post-operative instruction, ensure understanding of same, change gauze as required, and alert surgeon to any medical issues, patient concerns, or post-op complications.
Recognize and respond to basic and advanced dental and medical emergencies.
Maintain a supply and drug inventory for surgical procedures, infection control, and oxygen, nitrogen, and nitrous oxide tanks.
Ensures all inventory items are unpacked and properly stored.
Discard all disposable items for each visit, discard regulated waste properly in accordance with state and local procedures, and properly soak all instruments in ultrasonic cleaner prior to sterilization.
Sort and package instruments for sterilization before loading, activating, and venting the sterilization unit according to the manufacturer’s directions.
Clean ultrasonic units and autoclaves on regular basis and use a spore test once a week for sterilizers.
Keep sterilization logs current and file spore test results.
Other related duties as assigned.