Surgical Technologist - Employment

Employment

Most surgical technologists — about 60 percent in the United States — work in hospitals, mainly in operating and delivery rooms. Surgical technologist are also adaptive to deal with equipment handling, as handling a C-arm flouroscope in angioplasty and orthopedics and in many other departments as well. A surgical technologist with multiple experiences is preferred. Other jobs are in offices of physicians or dentists who perform outpatient surgery and in outpatient care centers, including ambulatory surgery centers. In the US, depending on the role and employment setting, they may go by different titles including Scrub Surgical Technologist, Circulating Surgical Technologist or Second Assisting Technologist. A few technologists in private practice (also called 'private scrubs') are employed directly by surgeons who have special surgical teams, like those for liver transplants.

Career prospects for surgical technologists are expected to grow in the coming years. According to the US Bureau for Labor Statistics, employment of surgical technologists is expected to grow in that country by 19 percent by 2020, faster than the average for all occupations. This trend is related to the expected rise in the number of surgical procedures performed, as the population grows and ages. Older people, including the baby boom generation, who generally require more surgical procedures, will account for a larger portion of the general population. In addition, technological advances, such as fiber optics, laser and robotic technology, will permit an increasing number of new surgical procedures to be performed and also will allow surgical technologists to assist with a greater number of procedures.