Certified Surgical First Assist - $20k Bonus

Vanderbilt University Medical Center; United States; On-site; USD 85,000 - 115,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Sign-on bonus $20,000 (taxable)

Relocation bonus up to $10,000 (taxe)

12-hour shifts (days)

Job summary

Vanderbilt University Medical Center is seeking a Certified Surgical First Assistant to join the Perioperative Services. The CST First Assistant provides patient positioning, prep, draping, hemostasis and tissue handling under surgeon supervision; may function as a Surgical Technologist when not First Assisting.

Join our Perioperative Services teams with opportunities across Orthopedic, Trauma/Transplants, and other surgical services.

Qualifications

• Graduate or trained in an approved surgical discipline.
• Minimum 3 years of relevant work experience.
• Registration with the Tennessee Board of Medical Examiners.
• NBSTSA CST or TS-C certification (nutrition: TS-C is in list).
• CSFA, CSA, CSA- NCCSA, SA-C certifications are listed.
• Knowledge of surgical equipment and devices; intermediate level.
• Solid procedures knowledge; capable of advanced tasks.
• Experience in operating room care and sterile technique.
• Environmental sterility and safety proficiency.
• Inventory management fundamentals for perioperative settings.
• Surgical technology proficiency; ability to train others.
• Equipment maintenance knowledge for OR devices.

Responsibilities

• Act as member of the operating room team with prep, setup and cleanup.
• Assist with patient positioning for safe operative access.
• Maintain asepsis to reduce infection risk.
• Initiate intraoperative behaviors unique to first assisting.
• Additional duties may be assigned.

Skills

Surgical Equipment Knowledge

Procedures Knowledge

Operating Room Care

Environmental Sterility & Safety

Inventory Management

Surgical Technology

Equipment Maintenance

Education

Graduate of an approved discipline specific program

Surgical assistant training program (military service)

Job description

Discover Vanderbilt University Medical Center

Located in Nashville, Tennessee, and operating at a global crossroads of teaching, discovery, and patient care, VUMC is a community of individuals who come to work each day with the simple aim of changing the world. It is a place where your expertise will be valued, your knowledge expanded, and your abilities challenged. Vanderbilt Health is committed to an environment where everyone has the chance to thrive and where your uniqueness is sought and celebrated. It is a place where employees know they are part of something that is bigger than themselves, take exceptional pride in their work and never settle for what was good enough yesterday. Vanderbilt’s mission is to advance health and wellness through preeminent programs in patient care, education, and research.

Organization

VUH Periop OR/Holding Admin

Job Summary

The Certified Surgical First Assist performs in the expanded role as a CST First Assistant to the Surgeon, by performing positioning, prepping, and draping of patient, providing hemostasis, providing wound exposure and handling of sutures and tissue under the direction and supervision of the operating surgeon. May perform as a Surgical Technologist when not First Assisting.

Join the impactful teams in our Perioperative Services Departments! Exciting openings are listed below.

• Orthopedic Team - Adult elective, urgent, and emergent care.
• Trauma/Transplants

Position Shift

Full Time: Days, 12-hour shifts. Additional details to be discussed during department interview.

Sign-On Bonus

• This full-time position includes a $20,000 taxable sign-on bonus, distributed in 4 equal payments over two years.
• Note: This bonus is not available to current VUMC employees or those who have worked at VUMC within the past twelve months.

Relocation Bonus

• Eligible candidates can receive up to $10,000 (taxable) for relocation expenses, payable within 45 days of hire. Bonus amount to be awarded is based on relocation distance.
• To qualify, candidates must relocate from a distance greater than 100 miles.
• Note: This bonus is not available to current VUMC employees or those who have worked at VUMC within the past twelve months.

About Us

Perioperative Services is a multi-disciplinary department with over 800 employees, each playing an integral role in providing exceptional care for our surgical patients throughout their surgical experience.

The department encompasses various areas, including Operating Rooms and Main Campus Intraoperative Service Lines such as Cardiovascular/Transplant (Heart & Lung), OR Float Pool, General Surgery/Transplant (Kidney, Liver, & Pancreas) Black Team, GYN Surgery, Neurosurgery, Nights/Evenings/Weekends, Orthopedics, Otolaryngology/Bronchoscopy, Urology/Robotics (OR Gold Team), and Medical Center East.

Key Responsibilities

• Acts as a member of the operating room team by assisting with the room preparation, setup and clean up.
• Assists with patient positioning to provide access to the operative site while maximizing patient safety and comfort.
• Establishes and maintain a surgically clean environment to reduce the potential for patient infection through the application of the principals of asepsis.
• Initiate appropriate intra operative behaviors unique to first assisting.
• The responsibilities listed are a general overview of the position and additional duties may be assigned.

Qualifications

• Required: Graduate of an approved specific discipline OR successful completion of a surgical assistant training program during the applicant's service as a member of any branch of the armed forces of the United States.
• Required: Minimum 3 years of relevant work experience.
• Required: Registration with the Tennessee Board of Medical Examiners.
• Required: Certification from one of the listed issuers below:
  • NBSTSA CST – National Board of Surgical Technologist and Surgical Assistants, Certified Surgical Technologist.
  • NCCT – TS-C – National Center for Competency Testing, Tech In Surgery.
• Required: Certification from one of the listed issuers below:
  • CSFA - Certified Surgical First Assistant - National Board of Surgical Technology and Surgical Assisting (NBSTSA)
  • CSA - Certified Surgical Assistant - National Surgical Assistant Association (NSAA)
  • CSA- Certified Surgical Assistant - National Commission for Certification of Surgical Assistants (NCCSA)
  • SA-C- Surgical Assistant-Certified - American Board of Surgical Assistants (ABSA)
• Surgical Equipment Knowledge (Intermediate): Demonstrates mastery of the equipment and related devices. Has solid knowledge of performance criteria. Able to use the equipment to accomplish advanced tasks associated with the specific devices. Easily resolves equipment problems.
• Procedures Knowledge (Intermediate): Demonstrates mastery of procedures knowledge in practical applications of a difficult nature. Possesses sufficient knowledge, training, and experience to be capable of successfully delivering procedures knowledge services without requiring support and instruction from others. Able to train and educate by setting the example, giving technical instruction, providing leadership, and generally raising the level of performance of others while on the job.
• Operating Room Care (Intermediate): Demonstrates mastery of operating room care in practical applications of a difficult nature. Possesses sufficient knowledge, training, and experience to be capable of successfully delivering operating room care services without requiring support and instruction from others. Able to train and educate by setting the example, giving technical instruction, providing leadership, and generally raising the level of performance of others while on the job.
• Environmental Sterility & Safety (Intermediate): Demonstrates mastery of environmental sterility and safety in practical applications of a difficult nature. Possesses sufficient knowledge, training, and experience to be capable of successfully delivering environmental sterility and safety services without requiring support and instruction from others. Able to train and educate by setting the example, giving technical instruction, providing leadership, and generally raising the level of performance of others while on the job.
• Inventory Management (Novice): Possesses sufficient fundamental proficiency to successfully demonstrate Inventory Management skills in practical applications of moderate difficulty. Demonstrates basic expertise with Inventory Management tools, procedures and processes. Monitors material moved into and out of stockroom locations and reconciles inventory balances. Works with electronic catalogs.
• Surgical Technology (Intermediate): Demonstrates mastery of surgical technology in practical applications of a difficult nature. Possesses sufficient knowledge, training, and experience to be capable of successfully delivering results without requiring support and instruction from others. Able to train and educate by setting the example, giving instruction, providing leadership, and generally raising the level of performance of others while on the job.
• Equipment Maintenance (Intermediate): Demonstrates mastery of preventive maintenance in practical applications of a difficult nature. Possesses sufficient knowledge, training, and experience to be capable of successfully maintaining equipment, products, or systems without requiring support and instruction from others. Able to conduct predictive maintenance on core products and equipment.

Allied health is among the fastest growing occupations in healthcare today. This area can be defined as credentialed professionals who perform supportive, diagnostic, and therapeutic health care services to promote health and prevent disease in a variety of settings.

These areas are crucial to Vanderbilt Health’s reputation for excellence in these areas that has made us a major center for patient referrals from throughout the Mid-South.

Each year, people throughout Tennessee and the southeast choose Vanderbilt Health for their health care because of our leadership in medical science and our dedication to treating patients with dignity and compassion.

Core Accountabilities

• Organizational Impact: Independently performs non-routine tasks that significantly impact team and other related teams.* Problem Solving/ Complexity of work: Gathers and analyzes data to solve problems that arise with little or no precendent.* Breadth of Knowledge: Applies advanced job knowledge and has developed a breadth of skills in other areas. * Team Interaction: Serves as a lead for the team by providing expertise and guidance to team members.

Core Capabilities

Supporting Colleagues: - Develops Self and Others: Invests time, energy, and enthusiasm in developing self/others to help improve performance e and gain knowledge in new areas. - Builds and Maintains Relationships: Maintains regular contact with key colleagues and stakeholders using formal and informal opportunities to expand and strengthen relationships. - Communicates Effectively: Recognizes group interactions and modifies one's own communication style to suit different situations and audiences. Delivering Excellent Services : - Serves Others with Compassion: Seeks to understand current and future needs of relevant stakeholders and customizes services to better address them. - Solves Complex Problems: Approaches problems from different angles; Identifies new possibilities to interpret opportunities and develop concrete solutions. - Offers Meaningful Advice and Support: Provides ongoing support and coaching in a constructive manner to increase employees' effectiveness. Ensuring High Quality : - Performs Excellent Work: Engages regularly in formal and informal dialogue about quality; directly addresses quality issues promptly. - Ensures Continuous Improvement: Applies various learning experiences by looking beyond symptoms to uncover underlying causes of problems and identifies ways to resolve them. - Fulfills Safety and Regulatory Requirements: Understands all aspects of providing a safe environment and performs routine safety checks to prevent safety hazards from occurring. Managing Resources Effectively : - Demonstrates Accountability: Demonstrates a sense of ownership, focusing on and driving critical issues to closure. - Stewards Organizational Resources: Applies understanding of the departmental work to effectively manage resources for a department/area. - Makes Data Driven Decisions: Demonstrates strong understanding of the information or data to identify and elevate opportunities. Fostering Innovation: - Generates New Ideas: Proactively identifies new ideas/opportunities from multiple sources or methods to improve processes beyond conventional approaches. - Applies Technology: Demonstrates an enthusiasm for learning new technologies, tools, and procedures to address short-term challenges. - Adapts to Change: Views difficult situations and/or problems as opportunities for improvement; actively embraces change instead of emphasizing negative elements.

Position Qualifications

Responsibilities

Certified Surgical Assistant - National Commission for Certification of Surgical Assistants (NCCSA), Certified Surgical Assistant - National Surgical Assistant Association (NSAA), Certified Surgical First Assistant - National Board of Surgical Technology and Surgical Assisting (NBSTSA), Certified Surgical First Assistant - The American Board of Surgical Assistants (ABSA), LIC-Registered Surgical Assist-Tennessee - Tennessee

Work Experience

Relevant Work Experience

Experience Level

3 years

Education

Graduate of an approved discipline specific program

This role offers the opportunity to make a meaningful impact within Vanderbilt Health, supported by a comprehensive benefits package which may include health, disability, retirement and/or wellness offerings to enhance your well-being and professional growth.

Vanderbilt Health is committed to fostering an environment where everyone has the chance to thrive and is committed to the principles of equal opportunity. EOE/Vets/Disabled.