A surgical technician is a trained professional whose job is extremely important to people undergoing surgery. Surgical technicians complete special training, lasting from about one to two years, either at community or trade colleges. They may also be certified through various agencies, and take examinations after completing school to get certification.

One of the most important aspects of surgical technician jobs is learning how to prepare operating rooms so that they are sterile, which will lower rate of infection in patients. In general surgical techs don’t actually clean up the operating rooms; this is left to maintenance staff. But they may oversee cleaning and prepare and sterilize all instruments that might be needed in an operation.

During actual surgeries the surgical technician is on hand to assist. Techs must be able to follow directions accurately, quickly and carefully, so they need familiarity with the names of the many instruments a surgeon might require during an operation. Due to the fact that the surgical technician is actually present during operations, at least some of the time, tolerance for seeing open surgeries is important. This may not be the job for you if you faint at the sight of blood. You should be prepared to spend most of the day on your feet; there’s very little sitting down on the job.

The surgical technician helps to prep surgeons and nurses to go into the sterile environment, and they support the surgeon by supplying her with anything she might need. If the surgeon needs a change of operating clothes, needs her forehead swabbed for excess sweat or needs a new surgical cap during an operation, the surgical tech provides these. Techs may assist by helping surgeons put on operating room clothing, gloves, and caps, so that after a surgeon has fully scrubbed, she remains completely sterile before entering the operating room. As surgery progresses, the surgical tech watches to be sure no one has violated sterile procedures.

Before and after surgery, a surgical technician transports patients to the operating room, and to recovery rooms, ICUs, or regular hospital rooms. He or she may deliver charts with physician’s orders, and may arrange for the type of room or location in a hospital to which a patient needs transport. Usually the most direct patient care a surgical tech has with a patient is during transport, and a doctor or nurse almost always accompanies the surgical tech when a patient is transported. The tech essentially wheels the bed.

Average salary for this job has a variable range. While most entry-level techs make about $28,000 USD yearly, the most experienced techs may make about $40,000 US Dollars (USD) per year, and may make more if and when they need to work overtime or off shifts to accommodate emergency surgery needs.