Surgical Tech III - Cardiovascular Operating Room

UNC Health; North Carolina; On-site; USD 37,000 - 53,000; Full time

Job summary

UNC Health in Chapel Hill, NC is seeking a Surgical Technologist III to support safe, aseptic procedures in the operating room. You will work under surgeons and RNs to optimize patient safety, scrubbing across multiple service lines and ensuring proper instrument handling and setup.

The position requires 5 years of related experience or equivalent training, BLS certification, CST/TS-C certification, and strong teamwork and communication skills.

Qualifications

• High school diploma or GED required; higher-level degree may satisfy this requirement.
• Graduate of an accredited Surgical Technology or Nursing Program; or Military Training Program in Surgical Technology.
• Strong communication skills/customer service relations.
• Ability to mentor and work well in a team.
• On-call (may be required depending on position).

Responsibilities

• Provides leadership at unit level to correct safety/clinical quality deficiencies.
• Assists in policy, procedure, and protocol development at department level.
• Performs technical skills in operating room areas with proper practices.
• Maintains, assembles, handles, and sterilizes instruments; ensures efficient room turnovers.
• Demonstrates knowledge of implants and prostheses related to specialty area.
• Performs aseptic technique and addresses contamination or breaks.
• Performs surgical counts and reports discrepancies.
• Handles labeling and preparation of specimens, drugs, and solutions.
• Plans instrument setup and assists in case planning and instrumentation needs.
• Assists surgeon and nurse during intraoperative phases.
• Adapts scrubbing procedures as needed; responds to emergencies per hospital plan.
• Manages inventory and restocks OR/procedural rooms; mentors peers.
• Serves as primary surgical technologist resource for the specialty area.
• Collaborates on budget and cost containment strategies.
• Participates in data collection for research under RN direction.

Skills

Strong communication

Mentor & team player

On-call

Education

High school diploma or GED

Surgical Technology/Nursing program graduate

Job description

DescriptionSchedule: Monday through Friday, 7am - 5pm (4 10-hour shifts per week) with call and holiday requirements.

DescriptionSchedule: Monday through Friday, 7am - 5pm (4 10-hour shifts per week) with call and holiday requirements. Your passion belongs at UNC Health. Join more than 56,000 teammates working together to improve the health and well-being of the communities we serve across North Carolina. UNC Chapel Hill Main Campus is a level one trauma academic facility and includes 26 operating rooms. It is a very fast-paced environment offering multiple service lines. We are proud to be on the cutting edge of technology for many surgical procedures. Our specialty procedures include cochlear implants, organ transplants, bariatric procedures, open-heart surgeries, ECMO, endovascular surgeries, flap reconstructive surgeries, stereotactic and image guided neuro surgeries, da Vinci® robotic surgeries, and Hyperthermia Intraperitoneal Chemotherapy (HIPEC). In PreOp/PACU we prepare adult patients for surgery and/or recover post-procedure for multiple procedural areas to include Cystoscopy, VIR, Radiation Oncology, EP/Cath lab and MRI (these patients may receive general anesthesia). UNC Health's North Carolina Surgical Hospital Boasts State-of-the-art Operating Rooms And Patient-centric Healing Environments. This Space Connects To Our Existing Five-building UNC Medical Center Campus And Features The Following

• Seven stories with 375,000 square feet
• 26 ORS, including hybrid rooms accommodating imaging technology
• 59 pre- and post-operative rooms
• 80 ICU beds and 15 surgical observation beds

Your passion belongs at UNC Health. Join more than 56,000 teammates working together to improve the health and well-being of the communities we serve across North Carolina.

Summary The Surgical Technologist III works under the supervision of a surgeon and registered nurse to facilitate the safe and effective conduct of invasive surgical procedures, ensuring that the operating room environment is safe, that equipment functions properly, and that the operative procedure is conducted under conditions that maximize patient safety. Surgical technologists possess expertise in the theory and application of sterile and aseptic technique and combine the knowledge of human anatomy, surgical procedures, and implementation tools and technologies to facilitate a physician's performance of invasive therapeutic and diagnostic procedures. Competent to perform surgical scrub duties across multiple services. Must function as a subject matter expert (SME), PI project, or other unit project when needed.

Responsibilities

• Provides leadership at unit level to correct safety/clinical quality deficiencies. Leads/implements changes at the unit level.
• Assists in the development of policies, procedures, and protocols at the department level.
• Performs technical skill duties in all operating room specialty service areas, ensuring that proper technical practices are employed according to accepted standards of process.
• Provides proper maintenance, assembly, handling, and sterilization techniques of specialty instrumentation. Facilitates efficient room turnovers.
• Demonstrates knowledge and proper handling of surgical implants and prostheses related to surgical specialty focus area.
• Demonstrates advanced knowledge and practice of aseptic and surgical technique. Proactively identifies contamination and/or breaks in aseptic technique and implements corrective actions.
• Performs surgical counts. Follows policies and procedures for incorrect counts and reports discrepancies appropriately.
• Assists in the proper identification, preparation, handling, and labeling of surgical specimens. Labels drugs and solutions; monitors quantities used.
• Actively participates in the planning and set up of instruments, supplies, and surgical drapes in an organized manner to provide optimal accessibility during the procedure. Assists in picking cases and planning of instrument needs.
• Assists the surgeon, demonstrating an understanding of the patient’s anatomy and abnormalities which affect the surgical procedure. Assists the registered nurse during the intraoperative implementation phase of nursing practice.
• Recognizes and modifies scrubbing procedures based on pertinent information to develop modifications to standard approaches to care and communicates with the surgical team. Responds to surgical emergencies and follows hospitalwide emergency management plans.
• Inventories, receives, and stores supplies under the direction of Surgical Services leadership. Identifies and reports defective instruments, supplies, and equipment. Assists with restocking operating/procedure rooms and sub-sterile areas. Coaches team to anticipate resources.
• Mentors Surgical Tech peers in collaboration with the surgical services leadership and educator. Serves as primary preceptor for new hires, on the job trainees, and to scrub role for specialty focus area. Participates in teaching, guiding, and evaluating the performance of peers during orientation and annual review process. Identifies and communicates educational needs with Surgical Service leadership and educator. Assesses department-wide learning needs and participates in planning activities to meet those needs.
• Serves as Primary Surgical Technologist resource for surgical specialty focus area.
• Participates in teaching, guiding, and evaluating the performance of peers during orientation and annual review process. Identifies and communicates educational needs with Surgical Service leadership and educator. Assesses department-wide learning needs and participates in planning activities to meet those needs.
• Collaborates with other health care professionals in the development of surgical budgetary requirements. Recommends cost containment strategies to increase organizational fiscal outcomes.
• Participates in data collection for research projects under the direction of an RN.

Other Information

Other information:

Education Requirements

• High school diploma or GED required; higher-level degree may satisfy this requirement. Or graduate of an accredited Surgical Technology or Nursing Program; or graduate of a Military Training Program in Surgical Technology

Licensure/Certification Requirements

• Basic Life Support (BLS) for Healthcare Provider certification
• Certified Surgical Technologist (CST) through The National Board of Surgical Technology and Surgical Assisting or Tech in Surgery (TS-C) through The National Center of Competency Testing

Professional Experience Requirements

• Requires five (5) years of related experience.
• Formal education/training may be substituted for individuals with 7+ years of prior experience as a surgical tech.

Knowledge/Skills/and Abilities Requirements

• Successful completion of service specific portion of the UNC Health Surgical Technologist competencies.
• Strong communication skills/customer service relations.
• Ability to function effectively as a mentor & team player.
• On-call (May be a requirement depending on the position).

Job Details

Legal Employer: STATE
Entity: UNC Medical Center
Organization Unit: Operating Room
Work Type: Full Time
Standard Hours Per Week: 40.00
Salary Range: $26.85 - $38.61 per hour (Hiring Range)
Pay offers are determined by experience and internal equity
Work Assignment Type: Onsite
Work Schedule: Variable
Location of Job: US:NC:Chapel Hill
Exempt From Overtime: Exempt: No
This is a State position employed by UNC Health Care System with UNC Health benefits. If, however, you are presently an employee of another North Carolina agency and currently participate in TSERS or the ORP, you will be eligible to continue participating in those plans at UNC Health. Qualified applicants will be considered without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, genetic information, disability, status as a protected veteran or political affiliation. UNC Health makes reasonable accommodations for applicants' and employees' religious practices and beliefs, as well as applicants and employees with disabilities. All interested applicants are invited to apply for career opportunities. Please email [e-mail] if you need a reasonable accommodation to search and/or to apply for a career opportunity.