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Surgical aide skills for your resume and career

Updated January 8, 2025

2 min read

Below we've compiled a list of the most critical surgical aide skills. We ranked the top skills for surgical aides based on the percentage of resumes they appeared on. For example, 41.3% of surgical aide resumes contained patients as a skill. Continue reading to find out what skills a surgical aide needs to be successful in the workplace.

15 surgical aide skills for your resume and career

1. Patients

Here's how surgical aides use patients:

Prepared patients for medical examination and procedures.
Cleaned and sanitized surgical suites between patients per protocol* Transported patients, blood products, specimens, and cadavers

2. Patient Care

Patient care entails the diagnosis, recovery, and control of sickness as well as the maintenance of physical and emotional well-being through the use of healthcare providers' services. Patient care is described as services provided to patients by health practitioners or non-professionals under guidance.

Here's how surgical aides use patient care:

Provide exceptional patient care Obtain patient's satisfaction of needs/wants Assist nurses with patient care
Schedule surgery, coordinate patient care.

3. Infection Control

Infection control describes the principles and practices used in hospitals and other healthcare facilities to control and minimize the spread of infections with the aim of lowering rates of infection. Infection control refers to the process of detecting and controlling pathogens in order to reduce their spread.

Here's how surgical aides use infection control:

Conducted decontamination and sterilization of surgical instruments in accordance with Infection Control Guidelines.
Maintained a sterile and neat working environment according to current infection control procedures.

4. Stretchers

Here's how surgical aides use stretchers:

Delivered medical supplies, located and maintained stretchers and wheelchairs ensuring oxygen supply.
Transport patients from their hospital rooms to the radiology area for x-ray by wheelchair, stretchers, and hospital beds.

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 surgical aides use surgical procedures:

Participate as needed in surgical procedures.
Job required safe set ups an take downs of surgical suites to provide quality surgical procedures.

6. PACU

Here's how surgical aides use pacu:

Assist RN's with patient recovery in PACU, setup and turn over operating rooms.
Worked in and around OR and PACU as a NAC Trained as unit coordinator and OR front desk

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7. Medical Terminology

Here's how surgical aides use medical terminology:

Demonstrated familiarity with medical terminology.
Learned medical terminology and medication definitions Measure medications accurately and administer according to residents requirements Properly document correct medications and dosages

8. Blood Products

Blood products refer to the therapeutic substances that can be obtained from human blood. This includes blood plasma, blood platelets, and red blood cells as well as "whole blood." These components are used for several medical purposes, such as blood transfusions and assisting those with blood diseases.

Here's how surgical aides use blood products:

Delivered blood products and handled specimens in laboratory.
Requisition and obtain blood products during traumas.

9. Surgical Instruments

Here's how surgical aides use surgical instruments:

Provided hands-on assistance to surgeons in skin cancer removal procedures and repairs by providing surgical instruments and equipment.
Committed strongly to requisitioning surgical instruments and equipment to assure that all designed supplies are stocked correctly.

10. Surgical Suite

Here's how surgical aides use surgical suite:

Sterilized equipment and surgical suite before and after surgeries, properly disposing of bio-hazardous materials.
Initiate efficiency in preparing surgical suite to provide optimal surgical care.

11. Surgical Equipment

Here's how surgical aides use surgical equipment:

Prepared sterile solutions and medications and ensured all surgical equipment is working properly.
Clean surgical equipment and instruments via designated sterilization room according to appropriate protocol.

12. Medical Equipment

Medical equipment refers to apparatus for use in medical procedures.

Here's how surgical aides use medical equipment:

Monitored medical equipment and devices such as operating room equipment.
Transport medical equipment interdepartmental and within operating room.

13. Surgical Cases

Here's how surgical aides use surgical cases:

Worked with Charge RN's, Surgeons and Doctors of Anesthesia in case management and scheduling surgical cases.
Assist with retraction in surgical cases.

14. Blood Bank

A blood bank is a place where blood is gathered, stored, and preserved for later use for blood transfusion. A blood bank is also referred to a department of a hospital where blood and plasma are stored after testing it. It is also responsible for separating blood components like platelets, red blood cells and plasma from that blood and returning the remaining components to the donor.

Here's how surgical aides use blood bank:

Assist physicians and nurses in daily tasks and in sending and retrieving labs from the blood bank, and pathology.
Delivered vital specimens to and from the OR, lab, and blood bank in emergent situations.

15. 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 surgical aides use vital signs:

Provide postoperative care with anesthesia patients monitoring vital signs until patient is conscious; establish patient comfort and review prescribed medications.
Document vital signs, medication administration resident behaviors associated with medication administration and facility incident and accident reports.

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What skills help Surgical Aides find jobs?

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List of surgical aide skills to add to your resume

The most important skills for a surgical aide resume and required skills for a surgical aide to have include:

Patients
Patient Care
Infection Control
Stretchers
Surgical Procedures
PACU
Medical Terminology

Blood Products
Surgical Instruments
Surgical Suite
Surgical Equipment
Medical Equipment
Surgical Cases
Blood Bank

Vital Signs
Surgery Room
Retractors
Front Desk
Catheter

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.

Updated January 8, 2025

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