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Surgeon's assistant skills for your resume and career

Updated January 8, 2025

4 min read

Quoted expert

Erica Sutton

Below we've compiled a list of the most critical surgeon's assistant skills. We ranked the top skills for surgeon's assistants based on the percentage of resumes they appeared on. For example, 19.0% of surgeon's assistant resumes contained patients as a skill. Continue reading to find out what skills a surgeon's assistant needs to be successful in the workplace.

15 surgeon's assistant skills for your resume and career

1. Patients

Here's how surgeon's assistants use patients:

Provided education to patients anticipating surgery, to reduce patient anxiety, and enhance surgical outcome.
Gathered outpatients' background and provided companionship and emotional support for thoracic cancer patients and families.

2. Ortho

Ortho is a medical prefix that refers to straightening something. This is seen in medical professions such as an orthodontist, who straightens teeth, or an orthopedic physician or surgeon, who assists in straightening a skeletal structure to prevent future deformities or harmful issues to develop.

Here's how surgeon's assistants use ortho:

Experience in Ortho, Eyes, ENT, OB/Gyn, General, Plastics and Endoscopy.
Assisted surgeons during routine procedures such as Ortho, General, Ent, Optho and Gyn.

3. EMR

Here's how surgeon's assistants use emr:

Format of medical reports closely assimilated what is now the guideline of the current EMR format.
Input of patient information into Email and Medical Records (EMR systems).

4. General Surgery

Here's how surgeon's assistants use general surgery:

general surgery bread and butter surgery in critical access rural hospital
General Surgery, Vascular Surgery, Laparoscopic Surgery

5. Surgical Procedures

Surgical procedures include the list of tasks that are done while doing surgery. Usually, a surgical procedure involves an incision with instruments, performed to repair damage or heal the disease in a living body. Surgical procedures are performed by trained individuals such as surgeons, doctors, and nurses.

Here's how surgeon's assistants use surgical procedures:

Sterilize and setup instruments for dental/surgical procedures.
Maintained proper sterile field during surgical procedures.

6. Direct Patient Care

Here's how surgeon's assistants use direct patient care:

Direct patient care including pre/ Post-op follow up.
Direct patient care with focus on comfort and compassion.

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7. Assist Surgeon

Here's how surgeon's assistants use assist surgeon:

Assist surgeon with in-office surgical and medical procedures, demonstrating sterile techniques at all times with any procedure.
Assist surgeons in variety of specialties, including OB/GYN, urology, ENT, Plastics and Ophthalmology.

8. Vital Signs

Vital signs are a set of values indicating different body systems' performance. They are measurements of the body's most basic functions. The four major vital signs used in medicine to assess a patient are body temperature, pulse rate, respiration rate, and blood pressure.

Here's how surgeon's assistants use vital signs:

Assisted in administering anesthesia and monitoring of vital signs under direction of the physician in operative room.
Take and record patient vital signs.

9. Sterile Technique

Here's how surgeon's assistants use sterile technique:

Prepared surgical suite for indicted procedure using sterile techniques.
Assisted surgeon with gowning and gloving using sterile technique and assisted draping the patient.

10. DR

DR is an academic title used as a designation for a person(s) who already has obtained a doctorate (Ph.D.) in a particular field of discipline. In medicine, DR is used by medical practitioners whose job is to tend to the sick and diseased regardless of whether or not they hold a doctoral-level degree.

Here's how surgeon's assistants use dr:

Shadowed a total of 54 hours with Kristi Donovan, PA-C for Dr. J Bohannon Mason
Assisted Dr Fatuma Osman in dental procedures and consults.

11. Surgical Instruments

Here's how surgeon's assistants use surgical instruments:

Set up operating room Clean surgical Instruments Maintained sterile field sterilized instruments Assist OR nurse
Managed, ordered and distributed appropriate surgical instruments and supplies.

12. Procedure Rooms

Here's how surgeon's assistants use procedure rooms:

Maintain stock and inventory of the procedure room s supplies.
Set up scopes and procedure rooms.

13. Medical History

Here's how surgeon's assistants use medical history:

Maintained accurate patient medical history and manually created each patient's new patient profile from all incoming medical information.
Analyzed patient's medical history, medication allergies, physical condition, and exam results.

14. Sponges

Here's how surgeon's assistants use sponges:

Counted sponges, needles, and instruments before and after operation.
Monitor location of sharps, sponges, instrument and suture.

15. GYN

GYN is a commonly used abbreviation that stands for gynecology or a gynecologist. The word "gynecology" has emerged from the Greek word "gynaikos" which means women and "logy means "study" making it a study of women. A doctor who specialized in handling pregnancy, childbirth, and treating female reproductive system diseases is called a gynecologist. They diagnose and treat issues of the uterus, ovaries, fallopian tubes, and breasts.

Here's how surgeon's assistants use gyn:

Assisted Surgeons in a variety of specialties including: OB/ GYN, Urology, ENT, Plastics, and General.
Maintained existing base of [ ] in highly competitive GYN marketplace during merger and subsequent formation of new Company.

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What skills help Surgeon's Assistants find jobs?

Tell us what job you are looking for, we’ll show you what skills employers want.

What skills stand out on surgeon's assistant resumes?

Erica Sutton

Associate Dean, Morehouse School of Medicine

A desire to serve others greatly stands out this year.

Do you want to know more?

List of surgeon's assistant skills to add to your resume

The most important skills for a surgeon's assistant resume and required skills for a surgeon's assistant to have include:

Patients
Ortho
EMR
General Surgery
Surgical Procedures
Direct Patient Care
Assist Surgeon
Vital Signs
Sterile Technique
DR
Surgical Instruments
Procedure Rooms
Medical History
Sponges

GYN
EKG
Surgical Suite
Laboratory Analysis
Patient Education
Suturing
Blood Pressure
Medical Equipment
Front Desk
Surgical Cases
CME
Mohs
MRI
Patient Charts

Exam Rooms
Sclerotherapy
Physical Therapy
Room Set-Up
Medical Procedures
Acls
GI
Surgical Equipment
Quality Patient Care
PACU
Recovery Room
Memorial Hospital

Updated January 8, 2025

Zippia Team

Editorial Staff

The Zippia Research Team has spent countless hours reviewing resumes, job postings, and government data to determine what goes into getting a job in each phase of life. Professional writers and data scientists comprise the Zippia Research Team.

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Surgeon's Assistant Skills

Updated January 8, 2025

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