What does a surgical assistant do?
A Surgical Assistant provides assistance during an operation by performing a wide range of crucial tasks. They cover patients with surgical drapes to create and maintain a sterile operative field and adjust and maintain operating room parameters according to the surgeon's specifications.
Surgical assistant responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real surgical assistant resumes:
- Manage medical records and document examination notes, prescriptions, and procedure details in EMR.
- Manage surgical scheduling, cataract evaluations, ultrasounds, keratometry, IOL selection, and preoperative exam for surgery.
- Prepare patients for examination by taking their vitals, and performing EKG when need.
- Assist with all dental procedures, order all supplies, maintain equipment and OSHA handbook.
- Assist surgeons in surgical procedures making incisions, manipulating tissues and organs, cauterizing, suturing and dressing wounds.
- Interview patients, review patient medical history, gather and educate patients on their medications.
- Verify out-patient surgical benefits and obtain insurance authorization for procedures using CPT and ICD-9 codes.
- Provide efficient and responsive customer service to patients regarding scheduling, pre-op information, and insurance benefits.
- Acquire skills include EKG and nerve conduction studies.
- Assist physican with in-office minor procedures and scribing.
- Assist in ICD-9 coding and billing to insurance companies.
- Participate in the implementation and ongoing roll-out of the EMR in the practice.
- Maintain patient privacy and confidential patient information.Strong knowledge of ICD-9 and CPT-4 codes.
- Maintain an inventory of instruments, sponges, and needles used during the operation.
- Assist with clamping, ligating and cutting tissues and the use of electrocautery devices.
Surgical assistant skills and personality traits
We calculated that 27% of Surgical Assistants are proficient in Patients, Surgical Procedures, and Patient Care. They’re also known for soft skills such as Dexterity, Interpersonal skills, and Listening skills.
We break down the percentage of Surgical Assistants that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Patients, 27%
Interviewed patients, reviewed patient medical history, gathered and educated patients on their medications.
- Surgical Procedures, 12%
Ensured surgeon received proper instruments during surgical procedures by continuing to educate myself in both medical and instrument techniques and terminology.
- Patient Care, 9%
Assess patient before, during, and after general anesthesia has been administered* Documentation of patient care and medical history
- Vital Signs, 5%
Provide postoperative care with anesthesia patients monitoring vital signs until patient is conscious; establish patient comfort and review prescribed medications.
- CPR, 5%
Maintained current CPR certification and actively participates in emergency preparedness familiarity and scenario drills.
- Infection Control, 3%
Conducted decontamination and sterilization of surgical instruments in accordance with Infection Control Guidelines.
Most surgical assistants use their skills in "patients," "surgical procedures," and "patient care" to do their jobs. You can find more detail on essential surgical assistant responsibilities here:
Dexterity. The most essential soft skill for a surgical assistant to carry out their responsibilities is dexterity. This skill is important for the role because "dental assistants must be good at working with their hands." Additionally, a surgical assistant resume shows how their duties depend on dexterity: "provided hands-on patient care, and ensured instrument sterilization. "
Interpersonal skills. Another essential skill to perform surgical assistant duties is interpersonal skills. Surgical assistants responsibilities require that "dental assistants work closely with dentists." Surgical assistants also use interpersonal skills in their role according to a real resume snippet: "record of improving profitability and patient retention with interpersonal communication between patients and doctors. "
Listening skills. Another skill that relates to the job responsibilities of surgical assistants is listening skills. This skill is critical to many everyday surgical assistant duties, as "dental assistants must pay attention to patients and other healthcare workers." This example from a resume shows how this skill is used: "assessed patient care needs and conducted medical history interview; communicated relevant data to provider. "
Organizational skills. For certain surgical assistant responsibilities to be completed, the job requires competence in "organizational skills." The day-to-day duties of a surgical assistant rely on this skill, as "dental assistants should have excellent organizational skills." For example, this snippet was taken directly from a resume about how this skill applies to what surgical assistants do: "demonstrate the necessary organizational skills to care for high acuity neonatal patients. "
Detail oriented. A commonly-found skill in surgical assistant job descriptions, "detail oriented" is essential to what surgical assistants do. Surgical assistant responsibilities rely on this skill because "dental assistants must follow specific rules and protocols, such as infection control procedures, when helping dentists treat patients." You can also see how surgical assistant duties rely on detail oriented in this resume example: "managed medical records and documented examination notes, prescriptions, and procedure details in emr. "
The three companies that hire the most surgical assistants are:
- Bon Secours Community Hospital14 surgical assistants jobs
- Health Alliance13 surgical assistants jobs
- Clear Choice Health Care12 surgical assistants jobs
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Compare different surgical assistants
Surgical assistant vs. Dental assistant/receptionist
A dental assistant/receptionist is responsible for managing dental appointments, including scheduling or canceling patients' dental sessions. Dental assistants/receptionists inform patients ahead of time if the dentist is out to reschedule another appointment. They also process payments, respond to customer's inquiries about dental services the clinic offers, updating patient information on the database, and creating a patient chart and visiting records for the dental staff's reference. A dental assistant/receptionist must have excellent communication and organization skills to assist patients efficiently and perform administrative tasks as needed.
While similarities exist, there are also some differences between surgical assistants and dental assistant/receptionist. For instance, surgical assistant responsibilities require skills such as "pre-op," "general anesthesia," "surgical instruments," and "dr." Whereas a dental assistant/receptionist is skilled in "customer service," "appointment scheduling," "strong computer," and "dental care." This is part of what separates the two careers.
Dental assistant/receptionists really shine in the health care industry with an average salary of $37,322. Comparatively, surgical assistants tend to make the most money in the utilities industry with an average salary of $72,838.On average, dental assistant/receptionists reach similar levels of education than surgical assistants. Dental assistant/receptionists are 2.4% less likely to earn a Master's Degree and 3.9% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Surgical assistant vs. 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. They prepare bills for the patients and send them to a particular insurance company. It is their job to ensure the timely scheduling of surgical cases based on the directions of surgeons and physicians. The skills necessary for this job include strong multitasking and organizational skills, good typing skills, and experience in administrative, secretarial, or clerical work.
In addition to the difference in salary, there are some other key differences worth noting. For example, surgical assistant responsibilities are more likely to require skills like "cpr," "infection control," "pre-op," and "general anesthesia." Meanwhile, a surgical coordinator has duties that require skills in areas such as "medical terminology," "patient demographics," "cpt," and "surgical scheduling." These differences highlight just how different the day-to-day in each role looks.
Average education levels between the two professions vary. Surgical coordinators tend to reach similar levels of education than surgical assistants. In fact, they're 0.5% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 3.9% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Surgical assistant vs. Surgical nurse
Generally, a surgical nurse provides patient care before, during, and after surgery. Surgical nurses assist the surgeons and anesthetists whenever necessary. They prepare patients for their surgery and serve the actual procedure. It is part of their job to mark incision sites and sterilize them. They give preoperative instructions, prepare the operating room, and administer medication. The roles they play include being circulating and scrub nurses. Also, they intervene whenever complications occur.
The required skills of the two careers differ considerably. For example, surgical assistants are more likely to have skills like "insurance verification," "general anesthesia," "surgical instruments," and "dr." But a surgical nurse is more likely to have skills like "bls," "acute care," "acls," and "rehabilitation."
Surgical nurses earn the highest salary when working in the professional industry, where they receive an average salary of $57,543. Comparatively, surgical assistants have the highest earning potential in the utilities industry, with an average salary of $72,838.When it comes to education, surgical nurses tend to earn similar degree levels compared to surgical assistants. In fact, they're 1.8% more likely to earn a Master's Degree, and 4.4% more likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Surgical assistant vs. Certified dental assistant
Types of surgical assistant
Updated January 8, 2025
