Surgical Technologist Team Lead - Thoracic Surgery

Independence Health System Careers•Latrobe, PA

7d•Onsite

About The Position

The Team Lead assists with surgical procedures in the Operating Room as a scrub member of the surgical team under the direction of a registered nurse and a surgeon. This role collaborates with the Surgeon, Clinical Specialty Coordinator, Supervisor, and Director to develop service line goals, including preference cards, efficiency metrics, orientation assistance, and overall service line excellence. The position delivers direct and indirect patient care in accordance with hospital/departmental policies and professional standards. The Team Lead works with the RN to develop and implement individualized, age-specific plans of care, assists in reassessment of patient conditions, and involves patients/families and other healthcare providers as appropriate. They ensure timely completion of patient care activities and accurate documentation on the O.R. Count Sheet and Surgical Site Identification/Verification Checklist. Maintaining collaborative relationships with physicians and other healthcare providers is key to achieving desired patient outcomes and ensuring a continuous flow of patient care. Communication of pertinent information for interdisciplinary patient care conferences and shift reports is essential. The role also involves reporting changes in the OR schedule and conferring with the OR CNC when necessary. Participation in unit performance improvement activities, assisting in data collection, and recommending modifications for enhanced quality of patient care and customer service are expected. The Team Lead demonstrates leadership abilities, problem-solving skills, and accountability, acting as a resource person and patient advocate. They may also serve as a preceptor/mentor to new hires and students and assist in managing departmental costs and ensuring compliance with regulatory agencies like State, JCAHO, and OSHA. Preparation for continuous survey readiness and adherence to infection control processes, including universal precautions, are critical. Patient safety is paramount, utilizing two forms of patient identification and assuming appropriate code team roles during emergencies. The Team Lead functions as the scrub member of the surgical team, obtaining necessary instruments and supplies, and may perform duties of a central service technician as needed. They arrange sterile setups, update physician preference cards, assist with patient positioning, identify the correct surgical procedure and site, assist the surgeon, handle specimens appropriately, perform accurate OR counts, and adapt to the changing needs of the surgical team. Responsibilities also include assisting with cleaning and setting up surgical cases and following principles of asepsis. Other duties as assigned.

Requirements

Graduate of an accredited school of Surgical Technologist.
One (1) to three (3) years’ experience as a Surgical Technologist.
Strong leadership ability, good organizational skills, independent and critical thinking skills, sound judgment, and knowledge of legal aspects and liability of nursing practice.
Strong ability to communicate complex and/or controversial topics and concepts to a wide and diverse audience.
Current Basic Life Support (BLS) approved curriculum of the American Heart Association (CPR and AED) program required.
Act 33 with renewal
Act 34 with renewal
Act 73 FBI Clearance
Act 81 Compliance

Nice To Haves

Certified First Assistant preferred.

Responsibilities

Collaborates with Surgeon, Clinical Specialty Coordinator, Supervisor, and Director to develop service line goals including: Doc preference cards, efficiency metrics, orientation assistance, and overall service line excellence
Delivers direct and indirect patient care in accordance with hospital/departmental policies, procedures, protocols and/or their professional standards of care.
Works directly with the RN to develop and implement an individualized, age-specific plan of care and evaluate its effectiveness.
Assists the RN in reassessment of the patient's condition and takes appropriate action as indicated or by unit specific policy.
Involves the patient/family and other health care providers when appropriate.
Completes patient care related activities within schedule time periods.
Complies with completeness, accuracy and timeliness of documentation on O.R. Count Sheet as well as Surgical Site Identification/Verification Checklist.
Maintains a collaborative relationship with physicians and other health care providers to achieve desired patient outcomes and assure a continuous flow of patient care.
Communicates pertinent information for interdisciplinary patient care conferences, shift reports.
Reports changes in the OR schedule, including the need to reassess the needs of the physicians or the OR staff, confers with the OR CNC when there is a need to alert the physician.
Participates in the unit performance improvement activities designed to enhance the quality of patient care and customer services.
Assists in data collection process as requested.
Recommends modifications for performance improvement.
Demonstrates leadership abilities by utilizing the concepts inherent to the practice of the credo standards.
Demonstrates an ability to solve problems independently and seeks assistance from immediate supervisor when appropriate.
Maintains accountability for actions taken.
Effectively functions as a resource person.
Acts as a patient advocate.
Performs effectively in the role of preceptor/mentor to new hires and/or students.
Assists in maintaining/decreasing organizational/department costs.
Assists in the department's compliance with State, JCAHO, OSHA and other regulatory agencies.
Participates in preparation for continuous survey readiness for inspections and surveys.
Adheres to the infection control process, including universal precautions, to reduce the risk of acquiring or transmitting infections.
Provides for patient safety in compliance with hospital and nursing department policies.
Utilizes two forms of patient identification before implementing any form of patient care.
Assumes appropriate code team role during code situations, including internal and external.
Functions as the scrub member of the surgical team.
Obtains necessary instruments and supplies from Central Service.
Performs duties/responsibilities as a central service technician as necessary or assigned.
Arranges sterile setup for each specific operative procedure coordinating with surgeon preference, especially within the cardiac surgical specialty.
Updates cardiac physician preference cards.
Assists in moving, lifting and positioning the patient.
Identifies patient appropriate surgical procedure and site by following policy for the surgical site ID.
Assists the surgeon in performing the surgical procedure.
Handles specimens appropriately.
Performs OR counts accurately and takes appropriate action in response to incorrect counts.
Maintains the ability to adapt to the changing needs of the surgical team.
Assists with the cleaning and setting up of surgical cases.
Follows the principles of asepsis, reporting any breaks in aseptic technique and rectifying the situation.
Other duties as assigned.