I’m about to accept an offer for a position, it’s gonna be my first ever job working as a CST, I’m fresh out of school.

I know I’ll have a lot to learn and make some rookie mistakes, but I want to come in teachable, dependable, willing to help, and good to work with. Basically, I want people to think, “Yeah, she’s new, but she’s solid.” I don’t wanna be the new kid that makes a bad reputation for myself.

Experienced CSTs: what are the rookie mistakes, bad habits, or little things that new techs do that nobody really warns you about? And on the flip side, what makes you think, “Okay, this new tech is gonna be good”?

Any scrub techs here had major surgery and returned to work fine? I’m having weight loss surgery done in 4 months and I’m supposed to return to work 2 weeks after surgery. I don’t think 2 weeks is enough time for recovery. I won’t be able to drink water and hydrate properly before a case, and I’m worried about lifting heavy instrument pans. Anyone been through this that could offer some tips? I work at a level 2 trauma center in Illinois. Constantly asking charge to find someone to replace me while I go hydrate is not something I can see happening.

I’m in the mind of thinking of getting scrubs to not keep scrambling for outfits. However, it also seems excessive knowing that I will end up taking them off anyway, only wearing them on the way in and out.

Quick question, I’m starting school for surgical tech

It’ll be a 360 career change for me and I wanted to ask
If you’re in TN
I’ve seen and all the big hospitals here are hiring

But they don’t show how much they pay

Anyone here in the TN state that can give me some input

And info on what to do after school, certifications?
Do surgical techs can do overtime or pick up extra shifts like nurses

Stuff like that!
Sorry for the questions I’m new and I’m extremely excited for this change

Thank you!

Hello. I am a surgical tech with five years of experience. I‘m most likely going to continue being a surgical tech, but what are some other paths to take to make more money or do something a little less physical a.k.a. standing all day and high stress? I’m looking into other medical jobs like sonography but I don’t know what’s right for me.

Hi everyone! I’m a surgical tech student and I’ll be starting clinicals soon. I wanted to get some insight from people already working in the field. Do y’all prefer working in a hospital or a surgery center, and why? I’d love to hear the pros and cons of both

I know pay has been asked about a lot, but I’m curious specifically about San Antonio. If anyone here works in the area and doesn’t mind sharing, what did you start at as a new grad and what are you making now?
My school has had students get offers anywhere from the low $20s to around $40/hr fresh out of school, so I’m trying to get a better idea of what’s actually realistic around here.

Hi all,

I’m making a career pivot to surg tech, and am trying to figure out the best path for schooling.

For context, I live in NYC, I’m a 33 y/o SAHM of three with a very supportive husband (financially and as an active parent). I’m including this detail because I feel like I’m starting late in this field and I don’t want to waste any precious time going for programs or taking extra steps that may be unnecessary.

My previous career didn’t require a degree, so I’ll be starting school from scratch (I do have a high school diploma, I just don’t have any college credits to transfer). I’ve been coming across a few ST programs that are about a year long, maybe two, but many of them require an associates degree. I was thinking of getting an AAS for healthcare administration, knocking that out in two years, then going for a ST program. That may bring me to about 3 to 4 years before being able to apply for work. But I’d have the healthcare admin degree as a solid backup. (I don’t know if I’ll ever need the backup, but it’d be there.)

Alternatively, I did find one school here, a private college (so a bit more expensive than a community college), that has a ST program attached to their AAS… Really leaning that way to complete all of this in two years.

My question: is this dumb? lol am I missing something or taking extra unnecessary steps? Or does this path make sense? Have you gone a different route that worked better?

Any thoughtful advice would be much appreciated! Thank you in advance 🫶🏽

this misogynistic ortho dr. i work with is incredibly sensitive and can’t handle a bit of sass from anyone. i’m an assertive woman and i don’t let grown men walk all over me just because they think they’re biologically superior. i asked 3 times to confirm dressings and he told me to chill with the attitude. it just made me pissed off and i said “how do i know if you heard me if you don’t reply” because ive always been taught that if someone doesn’t reply, they probably didn’t hear you. that’s like a rule of basic communication. he said, “do i need to speak with your supervisor about your attitude” here i am, 26 years old, hating my job and the city i live in, and i said, “do it. i don’t give a fuck” i could feel everyone’s mouth drop. he asked who my supervisor is and i said “_____, obviously” i just kept snowballing it. i really did not give a fuck. he said alright get her on the phone. the nurse said, “she’s on vacation” hahahahah he continued to lecture me and i tuned him out. at the end he said “do you understand? yes or no” and i just gave him a black stare. to top it all off, the surgeon left and the resident asked ME about his dressings. anyways, my manager had a talk with me and honestly didn’t really care either. he was indifferent, said it was just a miscommunication and didn’t need to resort to any punishment. now the entire nursing staff is treating me like their hero, it really did boost staff morale.

for further context, this dr. isn’t just a typical ortho doc misogynist. he likes to go on rants and believes that women shouldn’t have careers. that they should solely have the homemaker and caregiver role and that’s it. he said this in a room filled with career women, including a woman orthopedic resident.

Hi everyone,

I just found a school that is online and less than 6 months for sug tech. Admissions said after completion of the program, I am eligible to sit for the Nationally Registered Surgical Technologist (NRST) exam through American Allied Health (AAH) or the Tech in Surgery (TS-C) through National Center for Competency Testing (NCCT) certification exam.

Is this something I should be cautious about ?

What are the pros and cons about a program like this?

Reddit Post

I’m a 22-year-old male currently in surgical tech school with about 3 months left until graduation. I’m interested in working in Labor & Delivery because I have friends and family who are surgical techs in L&D, and they’ve told me it’s a pretty chill environment with good pay. I’m also planning on going to nursing school, so I’m hoping to find a specialty that isn’t extremely stressful while I’m balancing school. For any male scrub techs working in L&D, what has your experience been like, and is it difficult for men to get hired in that area?

i’m so fucking tired of these surgeons acting like the work we do is useless. i’m a good tech and i know it, yesterday i did a trauma spine with a usually mean dr. but never snapped at me and said i did an awesome job after the case. today, i did a lap appy and forgot 1 retractor out of a specials pan and the surgeon acted like it was the end of the world. “i do it the same way every time” okay, i don’t work with you all of the time. i work with like 50 surgeons every week, you’re not special to me. she also checked my instrumentation before draping!

I was offered a full time surgical Tech position for a level 3 trauma hospital. I thought it was a 7 to 3:30 shift but the contract says rotating. How bad can it be? 😂😭 I am a single parent and have children in sports. Just trying to get a feel of what the schedule may be like. Thank you.

Hi, I’m not sure if anyone else lives in riverside county but I was looking at the Surgical tech program with Carrington College and I wanted to ask y’all, is it worth it? Like what has job hunt after school looked like, has any one been to this specific school and did you get hired your from clinical site? It’s a pretty penny to spend on the program, so I wanted to ask yall! Also I have a meeting with the advisor from the program tomorrow, what questions should I ask to make sure I’m not getting “scammed,” for lack of better words. Thank you all in advanced!

I just paid for the ABSA certification eam for SAC and reading some of these realized I can't work in NYC. Is that right? Can someone with this certification work as a ST at least? And would that provide enough hands on experience?

I started a new travel gig and was told by agency that facility requires 4-5 days of call per 6 weeks with one weekend per 6 weeks. I even did an over the phone interview with surgical manager and she said same thing. I was like cool. I get to facility and find that I have 12 days of call in a little over 4 weeks. I am very irritated because I feel I was lied to concerning the call requirements. Its not that I care that there is 12 days of call. It's that they told me there would only be the above mentioned and it is no where near that. I plan on bringing this up at the end of my assignment. What do you fellow travelers think of this?

Edit update! Thanks everybody for confirming this situation. I think what I'm gonna do is talk with manager and let her know I'm ending contract early because of the call. I will put in a 2 week notice and if they show their ass, i just won't show up to finish the contract.

First time tech soon. What's something you guys take to stay focus/ alert. Maybe caffeine without energy drinks I don't want to have to go to the bathroom during a surgery . Also best footwear for 8-12 hours standing