What does a scrub technician do?

Scrub technicians are surgical technologists who are responsible for assisting surgeons and the surgical team in the operating room. These technicians must set out and sterilize the necessary instruments while helping each member of the surgical team put on their gloves and gowns during a surgical procedure. They are required to pass instruments, sponges, and dressings to the surgeon throughout the procedure. Scrub technicians must also ensure that the operating room and reusable instruments are clean before and after each surgery.
Scrub technician responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real scrub technician resumes:
- Manage sterilization of field during surgical procedures, ensuring cleanliness and sanitation meet organization protocol.
- Perform EKG's, blood draws (PKUs) and bed baths.
- Administer medications, perform EKG, venipuncture, and dressing changes.
- Observe, ensure and provide sterility, safety and preventative measures of OSHA and other mandate regulations at each command.
- Collaborate in a safe, efficient transfer of the patient from the operating room to PACU, ICU, and CCU.
- Admit patients onto unit; gather and submit patient financial information.
- Provide airway management interventions including tracheal intubation, fiber optics, and ventilation support.
- Assist anesthesia provider with intubation, arterial line placement, central line placement, patient positioning during anesthesia.
- Assist hospital anesthesia providers with: surgery supplies, operating room turnovers, equipment troubleshooting, patient assistance and transport as requested
- Assist the surgical team with schedule and stat cesarean deliveries and pass appropriate instrumentation.
- Implement PLC programming and troubleshooting procedures while also initiating and executing process improvements and conducting parts research when necessary.
Scrub technician skills and personality traits
We calculated that 24% of Scrub Technicians are proficient in Patients, BLS, and Surgical Procedures. They’re also known for soft skills such as Communication, Integrity, and Listening skills.
We break down the percentage of Scrub Technicians that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Patients, 24%
Admitted patients onto unit; gathered and submitted patient financial information.
- BLS, 12%
Maintained compliance with hospital training requirements and BLS certification.
- Surgical Procedures, 8%
Prepare and maintain medical equipment for surgical procedures including disinfection and sterilization.
- Aseptic Technique, 7%
Expected to instill proper aseptic technique and acceptable operating room etiquette is followed by all personal involved in the cases.
- CPR, 7%
Expanded professional knowledge base by attending various seminars and training sessions including CPR and Crisis Patient Intervention certification.
- Infection Control, 6%
Acquired certification as Facility Designated Infection Control Preventionist.
Most scrub technicians use their skills in "patients," "bls," and "surgical procedures" to do their jobs. You can find more detail on essential scrub technician responsibilities here:
Communication. The most essential soft skill for a scrub technician to carry out their responsibilities is communication. This skill is important for the role because "to prevent infections or other complications, surgical assistants and technologists must relay any issues that arise during surgery to the other members of the healthcare team." Additionally, a scrub technician resume shows how their duties depend on communication: "possess strong communication skills when requesting appropriate time out for patient safety. "
Integrity. Another essential skill to perform scrub technician duties is integrity. Scrub technicians responsibilities require that "because they are trusted to help during surgical procedures, surgical assistants and technologists must be ethical and honest." Scrub technicians also use integrity in their role according to a real resume snippet: "establish good rapport with patients and providing an emotionally supportive environment to promote patient trust for optimal level of independent functioning. "
Listening skills. scrub technicians are also known for listening skills, which are critical to their duties. You can see how this skill relates to scrub technician responsibilities, because "responding to requests from surgeons and others on the surgical team requires the ability to listen to and understand spoken directions." A scrub technician resume example shows how listening skills is used in the workplace: "communicated professionally and effectively with patients and staff of all grade levels, especially officers. "
Physical stamina. A big part of what scrub technicians do relies on "physical stamina." You can see how essential it is to scrub technician responsibilities because "surgical assistants and technologists should be comfortable standing for extended periods." Here's an example of how this skill is used from a resume that represents typical scrub technician tasks: "assist in procedures( pass instruments, anticipate surgeons needs, and many more tasks that require great dexterity and stamina. "
Dexterity. Another crucial skill for a scrub technician to carry out their responsibilities is "dexterity." A big part of what scrub technicians relies on this skill, since "surgical assistants and technologists should be comfortable working with their hands." How this skill relates to scrub technician duties can be seen in an example from a scrub technician resume snippet: "worked under pressure and maintained dexterity. "
Detail oriented. Another skill commonly found on scrub technician job descriptions is "detail oriented." It can come up quite often in scrub technician duties, since "surgical assistants and technologists must pay close attention to their work." Here's an example from a resume of how this skill fits into day-to-day scrub technician responsibilities: "oriented to all general and specialty surgery with concentration in bariatric, plastics, endoscopy, neurology and ent. "
The three companies that hire the most scrub technicians are:
- USPI53 scrub technicians jobs
- Williamson Medical Center24 scrub technicians jobs
- HealthTrust24 scrub technicians jobs
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Scrub 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.
There are some key differences in the responsibilities of each position. For example, scrub technician responsibilities require skills like "patients," "bls," "aseptic technique," and "cpr." Meanwhile a typical certified surgical technician/first assistant has skills in areas such as "patient education," "allergies," "surgical tech," and "insurance verification." This difference in skills reveals the differences in what each career does.
On average, certified surgical technician/first assistants reach similar levels of education than scrub technicians. Certified surgical technician/first assistants are 3.5% less likely to earn a Master's Degree and 0.3% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Scrub technician vs. Operating room technician
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.
In addition to the difference in salary, there are some other key differences worth noting. For example, scrub technician responsibilities are more likely to require skills like "bls," "scrub tech," "direct patient care," and "osha." Meanwhile, an operating room technician has duties that require skills in areas such as "patient care," "surgical technologist," "room environment," and "sterile processing." These differences highlight just how different the day-to-day in each role looks.
On average, operating room technicians earn a higher salary than scrub technicians. Some industries support higher salaries in each profession. Interestingly enough, operating room technicians earn the most pay in the health care industry with an average salary of $56,415. Whereas scrub technicians have higher pay in the health care industry, with an average salary of $38,268.Average education levels between the two professions vary. Operating room technicians tend to reach similar levels of education than scrub technicians. In fact, they're 0.1% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.3% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Scrub technician vs. Anesthesia technician
Patient care technicians are medical workers who work in clinics, hospitals, or other medical facilities under the supervision of doctors or other health professionals. They provide assistance to health professionals and patients. They help patients with mobility concerns get into hospital beds, bathrooms, wheelchairs, and more. They also help patients with their physical therapy sessions and other physical needs. They handle patient concerns and communicate these to attending physicians. They may be assigned to administer basic medical procedures such as checking vital signs and collecting samples from patients, among others.
There are many key differences between these two careers, including some of the skills required to perform responsibilities within each role. For example, a scrub technician is likely to be skilled in "infection control," "scrub tech," "surgical instruments," and "direct patient care," while a typical anesthesia technician is skilled in "patient care," "anesthesia tech," "surgery," and "intubation."
Anesthesia technicians earn the best pay in the education industry, where they command an average salary of $42,622. Scrub technicians earn the highest pay from the health care industry, with an average salary of $38,268.When it comes to education, anesthesia technicians tend to earn similar degree levels compared to scrub technicians. In fact, they're 0.5% more likely to earn a Master's Degree, and 0.2% more likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Scrub technician vs. Patient care technician
Even though a few skill sets overlap between scrub technicians and patient care technicians, there are some differences that are important to note. For one, a scrub technician might have more use for skills like "bls," "surgical procedures," "aseptic technique," and "scrub tech." Meanwhile, some responsibilities of patient care technicians require skills like "phlebotomy," "customer service," "direct supervision," and "patient treatment. "
The health care industry tends to pay the highest salaries for patient care technicians, with average annual pay of $32,238. Comparatively, the highest scrub technician annual salary comes from the health care industry.The average resume of patient care technicians showed that they earn similar levels of education compared to scrub technicians. So much so that theyacirc;euro;trade;re 0.8% less likely to earn a Master's Degree and more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree by 0.0%.Types of scrub technician
Updated January 8, 2025











