r/surgicaltechnology

Open bowel resection. I left about halfway through for lunch, preceptor took over. I come back in from lunch about 3/4 of the way through, theyre counting when I come in and a lap is missing. FA and Surgeon check inside patient, and see nothing. I break scrub and assist in finding it while the preceptor finishes the case. I Dig through two bags of trash, down on my hands and knees trying to find it. They call for the xray and I continue to search for it. X ray comes in and they find it in the patient.

The case was moving really fast and Im really new. Im trying to focus on the case, focus on my mayo, and focus on passing, safely loading drivers etc, so Im pretty overstimulated and working out how to juggle doing multiple things. I try to pull the laps off before they get saturated because theyre harder to find when theyre soaked with blood.

Am I going to get in trouble? I really dont see how this could possibly be my fault but I overthink things.

Do you guys work in hospital while you’re in the program just for extra money and experience? I was thinking to work but idk what job I should work. What kinda of job you guys work during program.? Any tips?

Thank you so much 🎀

I’m on the vascular team at my hospital. We take call for a week straight and it’s only for vascular cases. For some reason when we started this team the OR manager put us in as CVOR and we started getting their premium pay of $10 per hour on top of our regular base pay. About a year later they take it away because we are not CVOR and it was a mistake.

I am incredibly insulted by this. We get great results in vascular and our CVOR staff works one case a month. Why don’t we deserve a pay bump? Ok considering quitting because this is beyond insulting.

Hello everyone,

I have been a tech for 2 years at this point but i primarily do ortho. I became the ortho tech lead at the hospital I work at pretty much when I started and I really do enjoy the workload. However, I am in the military and will be getting out next year but the pay in my area as a normal tech on average is lower money than what I am use to in the military. I have always been interested in CVOR since tech school but since I am in the military it wasn't an open option. Does anyone have some experience in getting into this specialty or things to expect. This would be a great help thank you!

Hi guys I just started surgical tech school and I feel overwhelmed and scared. I just feel like it’s a lot of pressure and I feel like I won’t make it. Is school super hard? I promise myself I will do the best I can but my teacher is making it sound like it’s the hardest thing ever and I have to put in my 100% to pass.

Hi everyone! Looking for some help with ortho.
I am a newer scrub and have been working at my hospital for about 9 months, I also did my clinicals at the same hospital. I never did any ortho in clinicals or on orientation because they have their “ortho people” but lately our hospital has been super slow and i’ve been in there for learning opportunities for at least 2 out of my 3 days. I’m just struggling learning mako totals. All the docs do it kind of the same way with their little differences. I cannot understand the steps or memorize anything. I try to take notes but the one doc is super fast and does a flip room and he’s done with 7 cases by 2 o clock sometimes. I have no time to set up and actually understand what he’s doing in the procedure. I’ve been in there learning for 4ish weeks and i’m feeling super discouraged that I don’t understand what comes next in the procedure. Any tips that helped you guys remember it faster?

Hi, I’m new to this sub!

I am a wife and soon to be mom of 3 (Fall 2026)

I am considering going back to school either while I’m pregnant or after my initial postpartum period. I spent 10 years in the medical field; pretty much anything but clinical. Front desk, medical records, scheduling etc. I have been in probably 4-5 different specialty offices over the years, my favorite being OB/GYN.

My local university states the projected outlook for this career is -1%.. not sure if that’s accurate.

So I guess my question is, for current (or past?) STs, do you recommend going into this field? As someone that has been or is in it? Do you enjoy it? It’s a huge financial decision so it’s making me a bit nervous.

I need unbiased opinions. Thank you!

Hello. I have been looking for Surgical Techs to work at the Cleveland Clinic. We are opening the world's largest neuro clinic next year and are working to staff it before opening the doors. Any advice on where I can find potential candidates? Or anyone here interested?

I started in a program that’s relatively new. The school part is not really productive in my opinion largely due to watching a lot of videos, off topic conversations, even in lab :/
I didn’t really start thriving until I began the clinical externship.
At the end of my fifth shift, I felt like a dumbass. Up until then I felt like I was getting the hang of things even as newb then I totally choked on a laparoscopic case whilst be preceptor was retracting and holding the camera.
I’m probably being too hard on myself. So my questions, at what point in your clinicals did you feel like you were doing well and starting to really work independently?

Edit: I don’t mean competent and ready to work solo, just when you when did you feel you were in an upward trajectory?

Thanks!!

So I’m doing my license renewal and got me thinking about how much of a racket the whole thing is. It used to be 60 credits over 4 years. So you only needed your meaningless AST membership for your renewal once every four years. But now it’s 30 every 2 years. CEs are the same but you have to renew your AST membership more often so they’re getting more money.

On top of that, you have to “take” tests to earn your CE which is an extra hassle.

Then there’s the cost, AST membership is 80$. Then CE pricing and now they charge you if you want a wallet card for your certification. All in all it’s over 150$ every 2 years.

My wife is a nurse and hers is *cheaper* (100) and there’s no testing involved. Just pay the fee to renew your license and you’re good to go.

It’s insane that we don’t make as much as nurses and have to pay more and go through more of a hassle to renew. Honestly makes me want to go back to the days of hospital trained staff. I know several hospitals in New Hampshire are moving to this model.

Was scrubbing at a plastics center for 3 years, right out of school. (Only place that would hire me without any experience other than clinicals) Changed specialties because I was tired of the same thing over and over again. About a month in & i absolutely hate it. I wish I never left plastics. It’s very overwhelming and it made me realize this isn’t what I want to do long term. Don’t know if I should stick it out or just quit and find something else.

Once you’re done with CST school how many instruments are you supposed to remember? Do you ever forget any?

Is it worth it to get your bachelors in surgical technology??? Thinking of applying just to get it .. been a surg tech over a year

Listen to the surgeon get glazed the entire time, normie NPC conversation, pablum coworker music, sycophantic laughter at unfunny shit, and listening to people talk about their kids.

Hi everyone! I just wanted to post because I need some help. I just recently graduated w my surg tech degree the beginning of this month and I’m moving out of state to NC. I’ve applied to Duke University as well as UNC which are the closest places around me and I’ve been rejected from both places :( Both positions I applied for said there was no experience necessary however Duke rejected me due to my lack of experience in 2 common ortho procedures, and UNC has also rejected me. I’m getting a little stressed especially with moving out of state and I just want to have a job secure. Are there any tips or things I could try to do? Thank you soooo much in advance!!

I guess I'm venting but I'd love to heard if anyone else has had a similar experience.. I just finished my bachelor's in Health and Human Services this past March. Honestly, I only chose that major because I am a stay-at-home Mom and it was my only remote option at the time. Right after I finished I stumbled upon a Surgical Tech program in my area. I was originally going for Nursing, finished all my pre-reqs but life, kids, and babies happened and I never applied which was a huge let down for me but I did not have the support system at the time to succeed. I never heard of surgical tech before and honestly after reading about it I think I'd enjoy it more than Nursing. So, I'm starting an AS in Surgical Technology in August, I know I will be happy I did it because the starting pay is more and the job outlook is better in my area than the health and human services degree is. One good thing is, I don't have to worry about in general ed or pre-requisites because I already knocked them all out. In the long-run I might go back when the time is right for BSN or possibly Master in health admin. I just feel like I took the longest route possible to get where I'm going and the bachelor's degree was unnecessary. Oh, well..

A nurse told me the OR lights emit UV and to wear sunscreen?? Is this true, I’ve never heard of this till now but I also just started a year ago 🤷‍♀️