Surgical Technologist Team Lead

Independence Health System Careers•Latrobe, PA

1d•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 Team Lead delivers direct and indirect patient care in accordance with hospital/departmental policies and professional standards, working with the RN to develop and implement individualized, age-specific plans of care and evaluate their effectiveness. They assist the RN in reassessing patient conditions and taking appropriate action, involving patients, families, and other healthcare providers when necessary. The role ensures timely completion of patient care activities and accurate documentation on the O.R. Count Sheet and Surgical Site Identification/Verification Checklist. A collaborative relationship with physicians and other healthcare providers is maintained to achieve desired patient outcomes and ensure a continuous flow of patient care. Communication of pertinent information for interdisciplinary patient care conferences and shift reports is essential. The Team Lead reports changes in the OR schedule and confers with the OR CNC when there is a need to alert the physician. Participation in unit performance improvement activities, data collection, and recommending modifications for enhanced quality of patient care and customer services is expected. Demonstrates leadership abilities, problem-solving skills, and accountability. Functions effectively as a resource person and patient advocate, and performs as a preceptor/mentor to new hires and/or students. Assists in maintaining/decreasing organizational/department costs and ensures department compliance with State, JCAHO, OSHA, and other regulatory agencies. Prepares for continuous survey readiness and adheres to infection control processes, including universal precautions, to reduce the risk of infections. Provides for patient safety by utilizing two forms of patient identification and assumes appropriate code team roles during code situations. Functions as the scrub member of the surgical team, obtaining necessary instruments and supplies, and may perform duties as a central service technician. Arranges sterile setups, updates cardiac physician preference cards, assists with patient positioning, identifies the correct surgical procedure and site, assists the surgeon, handles specimens appropriately, performs OR counts accurately, adapts to changing needs, assists with cleaning and setup, and follows 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.