Typical Job Activities: Assist in operations, under the supervision of surgeons, registered nurses, or other surgical personnel. May help set up operating room, prepare and transport patients for surgery, adjust lights and equipment, pass instruments and other supplies to surgeons and surgeon's assistants, hold retractors, cut sutures, and help count sponges, needles, supplies, and instruments. How can I decide if the Surgery Technologist profession is for me? The links below will help you make an informed decision. Be sure to take the Career Assessments further down the page to investigate your "match" with this profession.   Holland Code: ISR     /     SOC Code: 29-2055      Typical Educational/Training Level from America's Career InfoNet: Postsecondary vocational award Career Video: View Career Video View a Summary Report from ONET Outlook: Read more about the outlook for this occupation in the Occupational Outlook Handbook, from the Bureau of Labor Statistics Use the Certification Finder http://www.careertools.org/certification to find out what state and national certifications are offered in this field. Job Growing or Declining: Find out if the job you want to pursue is growing or declining by using the Demand Decline List: http://www.wilma.org/wdclists Surgery Technologist training is offered at the following colleges in the Northwest: Bellingham Technical College Search for additional colleges in Washington State offering training as Surgery Technologists: Eligible Training Providers See what graduates from the Surgery Technologists programs are earning by going to the Job Training Results Employers in Washington: Search by Industry   /   Search by Occupation Create new networking opportunities by finding Professional Associations in the area. Volunteer Opportunities may open new doors to new contacts. Student Budget Calculator  http://www.javacalc.com/java/StudentBudget.html Lunch Savings - Bring that Brown Bag http://www.javacalc.com/java/LunchSaver.html Financial Aid Finder http://www.hecb.wa.gov/Paying/index.asp

Growth Rates

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State Profile with Occupational Rankings: Washington
 

Wages for Surgical Technologists

A percentile wage shows what percentage of workers in an occupation earn less than a given wage and what percentage earn more. The Median Wage is the estimated 50th percentile of the distribution of wages; fifty percent of workers in an occupation earn wages below and fifty percent earn wages above the median wage. For the estimated 10th percentile of the distribution of wages, ten percent of workers in an occupation earn below and 90 percent earn wages above the estimated wage value. The 25th percentile estimate has 25 percent earning less than the estimate; 75 percent earn more. The 75th percentile estimate has 75 percent earning less than the estimate; 25 percent earn more. The 90th percentile estimate has 90 percent earning less than the estimate; 10 percent earn more.
 

Career Paths showing some lateral movement between related occupations. along with training needed
 

	Interest Profiler and Work Importance Locator
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	The Career Key Test (top left hand column on the following web page)
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The most important knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSAs) are listed for Surgery Technologists.

Career Video: View Career Video
Knowledge:

• Medicine and Dentistry - Knowledge of the information and techniques needed to diagnose and treat human injuries, diseases, and deformities. This includes symptoms, treatment alternatives, drug properties and interactions, and preventive health-care measures.
• Biology - Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.
• English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
• Mathematics - Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
• Chemistry - Knowledge of the chemical composition, structure, and properties of substances and of the chemical processes and transformations that they undergo. This includes uses of chemicals and their interactions, danger signs, production techniques, and disposal methods.

Skills:

• Active Listening - Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
• Coordination - Adjusting actions in relation to others' actions.
• Reading Comprehension - Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.
• Mathematics - Using mathematics to solve problems.
• Active Learning - Understanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making.
• Science - Using scientific rules and methods to solve problems.

Abilities:

• Oral Comprehension - The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
• Arm-Hand Steadiness - The ability to keep your hand and arm steady while moving your arm or while holding your arm and hand in one position.
• Information Ordering - The ability to arrange things or actions in a certain order or pattern according to a specific rule or set of rules (e.g., patterns of numbers, letters, words, pictures, mathematical operations).
• Finger Dexterity - The ability to make precisely coordinated movements of the fingers of one or both hands to grasp, manipulate, or assemble very small objects.
• Number Facility - The ability to add, subtract, multiply, or divide quickly and correctly.
• Oral Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.

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