How to hire a certified surgical assistant

How to hire a certified surgical assistant, step by step

Here's a step-by-step certified surgical assistant hiring guide:

• Step 1: Identify your hiring needs
• Step 2: Create an ideal candidate profile
• Step 3: Make a budget
• Step 4: Write a certified surgical assistant job description
• Step 5: Post your job
• Step 6: Interview candidates
• Step 7: Send a job offer and onboard your new certified surgical assistant
• Step 8: Go through the hiring process checklist

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   Before you start hiring a certified surgical assistant, identify what type of worker you actually need. Certain positions might call for a full-time employee, while others can be done by a part-time worker or contractor.

   Determine employee vs contractor status

   Is the person you're thinking of hiring a US citizen or green card holder?

   Yes

   No

   A certified surgical assistant's background is also an important factor in determining whether they'll be a good fit for the position. For example, certified surgical assistants from different industries or fields will have radically different experiences and will bring different viewpoints to the role. You also need to consider the candidate's previous level of experience to make sure they'll be comfortable with the job's level of seniority.

   This list presents certified surgical assistant salaries for various positions.

   Type of Certified Surgical Assistant	Description	Hourly rate
   Certified Surgical Assistant		$19-43
   Surgical Coordinator	Surgical coordinators are tasked to carry out administrative duties that are significant to surgical operations. These duties include keeping patient records, scheduling surgical equipment, entering post-surgical data, and surgery scheduling... Show more	$12-23

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Patients
   • CPR
   • Surgical Procedures
   • Vital Signs
   • General Surgery
   • Visualization
   • Catheter
   • Patient Safety
   • Direct Supervision
   • Medical Equipment
   • Ortho
   • Suturing
   • Urology
   • Direct Patient Care

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Administer nursing care under direct supervision to assign residents and patients in order to achieve maximum level of independence.
   • Utilize suturing techniques to assist with closure of body planes.
   • Maintain correct operative counts of sponges, instruments and sharps.
   • Specialize in patient interaction to inform patients of their diagnosis, conditions and procedures and/or surgical intervention need.
   • Provide patient with positive/negative pathology results, pre-op, assist, post-op and provide patient education regarding their procedures.
   • Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of importance of registering patients while maintaining complete confidentiality according to the HIPPA laws.

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in your certified surgical assistant job description is a great way to entice the best and brightest candidates. A certified surgical assistant salary can vary based on several factors:

   • Location. For example, certified surgical assistants' average salary in washington is 49% less than in new york.
   • Seniority. Entry-level certified surgical assistants earn 56% less than senior-level certified surgical assistants.
   • Certifications. A certified surgical assistant with a few certifications under their belt will likely demand a higher salary.
   • Company. Working for a prestigious company or an exciting start-up can make a huge difference in a certified surgical assistant's salary.

   Average certified surgical assistant salary

   $60,436yearly

   $29.06 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level certified surgical assistant salary

   $40,000 yearly salary

   Updated December 16, 2025

4. Writing a certified surgical assistant job description

   A certified surgical assistant job description should include a summary of the role, required skills, and a list of responsibilities. It's also good to include a salary range and the first name of the hiring manager. To help get you started, here's an example of a certified surgical assistant job description:

   Certified surgical assistant job description example

   **Park Terrace Village is now hiring PRN Certified OT Assistant - COTA**
   
   The Occupational Therapy Assistant assists in providing skilled care under the supervision of the registered occupational therapist. Able to provide services for patients in all ASC Therapies & Wellness Settings.
   
   Compassion, Accountability, Relationships and Excellence are the core values for American Senior Communities. These words not only form an acronym for C.A.R.E., they are our guiding principles and create the framework for all our relationships with customers, team members and community at large.
   
   American Senior Communities has proudly delivered patient centered care since the year 2000, with a long history of excellent outcomes. Each of our 80+ American Senior Community is part of the neighborhood in which it exists. Our leaders and staff live in surrounding areas and know the community well. We value the same things in life that you do. The foundation of our senior living communities is based on the knowledge that we'll be part of your neighborhood for many, many years. We take great pride in our hospitality and it is ingrained in everything we do. As partners in senior care, we are not just doing a job, but following a calling.
   
   We are committed to the safety and health of our team members, residents and families we serve. As such, ASC is proud to have implemented a mandatory vaccination policy, requiring COVID-19 vaccination(s) for all employees and new hires. In accordance with our mission to compassionately serve every resident with quality care and excellence, we firmly believe that vaccinating all employees is essential for our customer's safety and health. New hires, including rehires, will need to show evidence of full vaccination on or before start or receive their first dose or one dose vaccine prior to start date.
   
   As such, we are asking those candidates who wish to request an exemption from being required to be vaccinated, submit a request for their exemption through the process outlined in the electronic onboarding paperwork. Should you have any questions regarding this, please speak with your recruiting contact directly.
   
   Equal Opportunity Employer/Protected Veterans/Individuals with Disabilities
   
   The contractor will not discharge or in any other manner discriminate against employees or applicants because they have inquired about, discussed, or disclosed their own pay or the pay of another employee or applicant. However, employees who have access to the compensation information of other employees or applicants as a part of their essential job functions cannot disclose the pay of other employees or applicants to individuals who do not otherwise have access to compensation information, unless the disclosure is (a) in response to a formal complaint or charge, (b) in furtherance of an investigation, proceeding, hearing, or action, including an investigation conducted by the employer, or (c) consistent with the contractor's legal duty to furnish information. 41 CFR 60-1.35(c)

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

   To find the right certified surgical assistant for your business, consider trying out a few different recruiting strategies:

   • Consider internal talent. One of the most important sources of talent for any company is its existing workforce.
   • Ask for referrals. Reach out to friends, family members, and current employees and ask if they know or have worked with certified surgical assistants they would recommend.
   • Recruit at local colleges. Attend job fairs at local colleges to recruit certified surgical assistants who meet your education requirements.
   • Social media platforms. LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter now have more than 3.5 billion users, and you can use social media to reach potential job candidates.

   Post your job online:

   • Post your certified surgical assistant job on Zippia to find and recruit certified surgical assistant candidates who meet your exact specifications.
   • Use field-specific websites such as healthcarejobsite, health jobs nationwide, hospitalcareers, medreps.com.
   • Post a job on free websites.

6. Interview candidates

   During your first interview to recruit certified surgical assistants, engage with candidates to learn about their interest in the role and experience in the field. During the following interview, you'll be able to go into more detail about the company, the position, and the responsibilities.

   It's also good to ask about candidates' unique skills and talents to see if they match your ideal candidate profile. If you think a candidate is good enough for the next step, you can move on to the technical interview.

   The right interview questions can help you assess a candidate's hard skills, behavioral intelligence, and soft skills.

7. Send a job offer and onboard your new certified surgical assistant

   Once you've found the certified surgical assistant candidate you'd like to hire, it's time to write an offer letter. This should include an explicit job offer that includes the salary and the details of any other perks. Qualified candidates might be looking at multiple positions, so your offer must be competitive if you like the candidate. Also, be prepared for a negotiation stage, as candidates may way want to tweak the details of your initial offer. Once you've settled on these details, you can draft a contract to formalize your agreement.

   You should also follow up with applicants who don't get the job with an email letting them know that you've filled the position.

   To prepare for the new certified surgical assistant first day, you should share an onboarding schedule with them that covers their first period on the job. You should also quickly complete any necessary paperwork, such as employee action forms and onboarding documents like I-9, benefits enrollment, and federal and state tax forms. Finally, Human Resources must ensure a new employee file is created for internal record keeping.

8. Go through the hiring process checklist

   • Determine employee type (full-time, part-time, contractor, etc.)
   • Submit a job requisition form to the HR department
   • Define job responsibilities and requirements
   • Establish budget and timeline
   • Determine hiring decision makers for the role
   • Write job description
   • Post job on job boards, company website, etc.
   • Promote the job internally
   • Process applications through applicant tracking system
   • Review resumes and cover letters
   • Shortlist candidates for screening
   • Hold phone/virtual interview screening with first round of candidates
   • Conduct in-person interviews with top candidates from first round
   • Score candidates based on weighted criteria (e.g., experience, education, background, cultural fit, skill set, etc.)
   • Conduct background checks on top candidates
   • Check references of top candidates
   • Consult with HR and hiring decision makers on job offer specifics
   • Extend offer to top candidate(s)
   • Receive formal job offer acceptance and signed employment contract
   • Inform other candidates that the position has been filled
   • Set and communicate onboarding schedule to new hire(s)
   • Complete new hire paperwork (i9, benefits enrollment, tax forms, etc.)

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