What does an anesthesia technician do?
Anesthesia technicians are healthcare professionals who oversee activities related to anesthetics. They administer anesthesia to patients and assist doctors in related activities. They also monitor the patient after the anesthesia is administered to ensure that no harmful side effects occurred. Anesthesia technicians are expected to know how to test for anesthetic allergies and to spot signs of such allergies. They should be familiar with the different techniques, solutions, and equipment used for anesthetic procedures. Aside from those, anesthesia technicians are also expected to manage the inventory of anesthetic solutions and to trigger purchase requests for new stocks.
Anesthesia technician responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real anesthesia technician resumes:
- Assess vitals, apply splints and other orthopedic devices, perform wind care, phlebotomy and EKG's.
- Maintain an unobstruct operative field, using surgical retractors, sponges, or suctioning and irrigating equipment.
- Provide appropriate life-saving care and assist veterinarian in triage emergency cases.
- Provide anesthesia technician services to patients under the direct supervision of a license anesthesia care provider designate by the client facility.
- Assist anesthesiologists in preparing patients for local or general anesthesia in the areas of main surgery, outpatient surgery and labor/delivery.
- Scrub minor ENT, GYN, and Ortho procedures.
- Set up central lines, hot lines, iv's, cell savers, rapid inducers.
- Complete CPR and HIPAA training.
- Assist in surgery, and radiology.
- Assist in ICU with vitals and treatments.
- Provide assistance to PACU nurses when returning patient to unit room.
- Assist the DVM on staff with anything else that are requested.
- Follow all safety guidelines and protocols set forth by OSHA regulations and HIPAA.
- Maintain compliance with hospital training requirements and BLS certification.
- Job duties include: PerformingEKG's, phlebotomy draws, assisting Dr. or nurse as requested.
Anesthesia technician skills and personality traits
We calculated that 16% of Anesthesia Technicians are proficient in Patients, Patient Care, and BLS. They’re also known for soft skills such as Integrity, Listening skills, and Physical stamina.
We break down the percentage of Anesthesia Technicians that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Patients, 16%
Supported Nurse Anesthetists and Anesthesiologists in preparing patients for surgery by anticipating their needs in varied locations throughout the hospital setting.
- Patient Care, 11%
Serve as an instructor/facilitator of educational in-services for other anesthesia technicians, operating room technicians and patient care associates.
- BLS, 7%
Maintained compliance with hospital training requirements and BLS certification.
- Anesthesia Tech, 6%
Manage daily operations of the Anesthesia Technicians, coordinating and providing technical support to Anesthesia Providers in eight different anesthetizing locations.
- Surgery, 5%
Assisted Physicians in administering medications prior to and during surgery curbing patient anxiety and improving efficiency.
- IV, 3%
Provided anesthesiologist technical support and patient prep for general/localized/traumatic procedures as well as IV lines and medication administration.
Most anesthesia technicians use their skills in "patients," "patient care," and "bls" to do their jobs. You can find more detail on essential anesthesia technician responsibilities here:
Integrity. One of the key soft skills for an anesthesia technician to have is integrity. You can see how this relates to what anesthesia technicians do because "because they are trusted to help during surgical procedures, surgical assistants and technologists must be ethical and honest." Additionally, an anesthesia technician resume shows how anesthesia technicians use integrity: "maintained integrity of sterile field and aseptic technique while assisting surgeon in both first and second scrub role during procedures. "
Listening skills. Another essential skill to perform anesthesia technician duties is listening skills. Anesthesia technicians responsibilities require that "responding to requests from surgeons and others on the surgical team requires the ability to listen to and understand spoken directions." Anesthesia technicians also use listening skills in their role according to a real resume snippet: "communicated with patients and respond to patient needs promptly, satisfy needs or refer their requests to appropriate personnel. "
Physical stamina. This is an important skill for anesthesia technicians to perform their duties. For an example of how anesthesia technician responsibilities depend on this skill, consider that "surgical assistants and technologists should be comfortable standing for extended periods." This excerpt from a resume also shows how vital it is to everyday roles and responsibilities of an anesthesia technician: "assist in procedures( pass instruments, anticipate surgeons needs, and many more tasks that require great dexterity and stamina. ".
Dexterity. A big part of what anesthesia technicians do relies on "dexterity." You can see how essential it is to anesthesia technician responsibilities because "surgical assistants and technologists should be comfortable working with their hands." Here's an example of how this skill is used from a resume that represents typical anesthesia technician tasks: "helped in surgery as needed when extra set of hands needed to spike iv lines or help in the procedure. "
Detail oriented. A commonly-found skill in anesthesia technician job descriptions, "detail oriented" is essential to what anesthesia technicians do. Anesthesia technician responsibilities rely on this skill because "surgical assistants and technologists must pay close attention to their work." You can also see how anesthesia technician duties rely on detail oriented in this resume example: "assisted physicians with multiple surgery types through detail oriented operating room evaluation, preparation, and stocking. "
The three companies that hire the most anesthesia technicians are:
- WakeMed119 anesthesia technicians jobs
- Emory Healthcare35 anesthesia technicians jobs
- HCA Healthcare25 anesthesia technicians jobs
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Compare different anesthesia technicians
Anesthesia technician vs. Mri technologist
Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) technologists are medical professionals who manage everything involved in the MRI machine. They operate the machines to get scans of the patients' brain, spinal cord, or muscles, which would help doctors identify or diagnose clients' illnesses and diseases. They help the patients prepare for the MRI scans and ensure that they are properly protected. They also carefully take direction from attending physicians to ensure that they scan the correct body part needed for the diagnosis. MRI technologists are also in charge of maintaining the MRI machine and working on repairs whenever needed.
These skill sets are where the common ground ends though. The responsibilities of an anesthesia technician are more likely to require skills like "patient care," "bls," "anesthesia tech," and "surgery." On the other hand, a job as an mri technologist requires skills like "arrt," "radiology," "magnetic resonance," and "customer service." As you can see, what employees do in each career varies considerably.
Mri technologists tend to reach similar levels of education than anesthesia technicians. In fact, mri technologists are 1.7% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.1% more likely to have a Doctoral Degree.Anesthesia technician vs. Certified surgical technician/first assistant
An operating room technician is responsible for assisting in the operating room procedures, ensuring the cleanliness and orderliness of the room, inspecting the condition of machines before the operation, and preparing medical tools and equipment accordingly. Operating room technicians guide the patients throughout the surgical procedures, instructing them as necessary regarding the processes. They also monitor the adequacy of surgical supplies inventory and write request reports for purchase. An operating room technician must have excellent communication and organizational skills, as well as the ability to multitask to attend to different patients' needs within a strict, demanding time.
Each career also uses different skills, according to real anesthesia technician resumes. While anesthesia technician responsibilities can utilize skills like "patients," "patient care," "bls," and "anesthesia tech," certified surgical technician/first assistants use skills like "patient education," "surgical tech," "insurance verification," and "surgical instruments."
Certified surgical technician/first assistants earn similar levels of education than anesthesia technicians in general. They're 4.0% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.1% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Anesthesia technician vs. Operating room technician
A cardiovascular technician is responsible for monitoring and administering treatment plans for patients with cardiovascular illnesses. Cardiovascular technicians operate various equipment and machinery to ensure the accuracy of diagnosis and determine the medical procedures to take. They also assist the doctors in performing medical operations, observing the patients' condition, and explaining the test findings to the patients. A cardiovascular technician keeps a record of medical charts for reference, as well as providing progress updates to the doctors and the patients' families.
There are many key differences between these two careers, including some of the skills required to perform responsibilities within each role. For example, an anesthesia technician is likely to be skilled in "bls," "anesthesia tech," "surgery," and "anesthesia machines," while a typical operating room technician is skilled in "surgical technologist," "sponges," "surgical instruments," and "room environment."
Operating room technicians earn the highest salary when working in the health care industry, where they receive an average salary of $56,415. Comparatively, anesthesia technicians have the highest earning potential in the education industry, with an average salary of $42,622.When it comes to education, operating room technicians tend to earn similar degree levels compared to anesthesia technicians. In fact, they're 0.5% less likely to earn a Master's Degree, and 0.2% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Anesthesia technician vs. Cardiovascular technician
Even though a few skill sets overlap between anesthesia technicians and cardiovascular technicians, there are some differences that are important to note. For one, an anesthesia technician might have more use for skills like "anesthesia tech," "surgery," "intubation," and "anesthesia machines." Meanwhile, some responsibilities of cardiovascular technicians require skills like "acls," "cardiovascular technologist," "cardiology," and "cardiac cath lab. "
In general, cardiovascular technicians earn the most working in the health care industry, with an average salary of $57,887. The highest-paying industry for an anesthesia technician is the education industry.The average resume of cardiovascular technicians showed that they earn similar levels of education compared to anesthesia technicians. So much so that theyacirc;euro;trade;re 0.6% more likely to earn a Master's Degree and more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree by 0.1%.Types of anesthesia technician
Updated January 8, 2025
