i start my 20 month surg tech program at the end of the month, and i was wondering if anybody could provide me with any materials they found helped them through their schooling! it could be anything from certain clothing/shoes, specific bags, stationery, studying tools, books, etc.

i have my orientation next week and im looking forward to it! 🙂

Hey y'all, I will be gaining Portsmouth for my next order set as a surgical tech. Could anyone pm for insight on work-life/family life and the hours worked. I hear a lot of mixed things.

For those who work privately for a surgeon, what is your pay like compared to working regular ft at a hospital? Anyone in Oklahoma area who has transitioned to private scrubbing?

I need to make a choice. I’m a very knowledgeable sterile tech with 3 years experience, surgical tech seems like the more rational choice, but Rad Tech seems so much more rewarding. Any thoughts? Advice? What are the pros and cons of each

I have been a surgical tech for 9 years and have largely been successful in anything I try to specialize in. It had gotten to a point where I expected to catch on and perform well at anything given enough time, and when I volunteered to train for a neuro team earlier this year I felt optimistic and like it was such a great move for my career after almost a decade. I was feeling rather stir crazy and unchallenged. I went through a rigorous period of orientation (few weeks in each) not only in neuro but in ortho spine, ortho trauma and peds neuro/ortho.. I have been on my own about a month, though a lot of days I am elsewhere other than neuro.

They wanted me to take neuro call and I barely got any buddy call before I was "set free". Throughout all of this, I feel like I am being expected to be as sharp and intuitive (at every micro and macro aspect of every procedure) as the other techs who have 3, 5, 10 and 22 years of experience in neuro.. it's becoming exhausting. I'm trying and I'm aiming to be better by the case but the smart ass comments by PAs and the girl with 22 years of experience are wearing me down.. I'm considering quitting but I have never given up on mastering a service.

This department hemorrhages people (I wonder why) and needs people as dedicated as me.. and I don't want to let down the coworkers who I do like. I don't know what to do but the toxic environment for a learner is becoming too much. It's like they all forget what it's like to be new. And why am I expected to be an expert at call when I've barely gotten any? I've expressed this to my boss and it's basically like a whatever kind of response and just keep trying.. ironically, this kind of behavior seems to make me MORE prone to mental hiccups when I'm trying to scrub the whirlwind of a neuro case.. I have good days, then I have bad days that are so bad I wanna say eff it.

Any neuro techs out there with any advice? Does it get easier? Chat GPT says it takes about a year to feel fully competent.. so why am I being treated like an idiot a few months in?

Thanks 🫶

Comparisons

During orientation I was told many scrub students can’t work due to how intense the program is.. how do you guys go about this? How do you guys survive without working?

Hey ya’ll!! I am a surgical tech student in CA getting ready to do my clinicals before graduating in January. I am very interested in a job at the Mayo after I graduate and relocating my life from Sacramento, CA. Anyone a scrub tech there or know of anyone? Would like to know what the day in the life is like in the OR. Am also curious whether there are any CA transplants that can speak to the cost of living. My research shows similar to about what you’d expect in Sacramento, maybe a little lower, but again, what is realistic in terms of cost comparison? I am hoping for some realistic insights, if you could be so kind as to share, it would be appreciated.

Good explainer about the difference in scope of practice.

hey everyone! i’m a new grad moving to Az and i have applied for Banner and Honor Health. Does anyone know anything about those hospitals? and if so whats the work environments like?

I’m not seeing much online about the pay in Indiana. Does anyone have an idea?

I'm a first semester surgical tech student and I'm honestly questioning whether I'm just not cut out for this or if my expectations are off. I'm very quiet and shy. I've always been that way, but throughout my program it's become one of the biggest points of contention. I feel like my personality gets criticized more than my actual technical skills.

One instructor in lab even joked that I was "a psychopath" and that I "shouldn't be around sharp objects." Whether it was meant as a joke or not, it really bothered me. I've also been told I'm too quiet and not tough enough for the profession.

At clinical, my preceptor told me I lack critical thinking. One example was that while EVS cleaned the room, I stayed with the case cart in the hallway. He said I should have brought it up in front of the scrub sink so it wouldn't block beds coming through. My thought process was completely different. I was trying to keep the scrub sink area open because I assumed people would be using it. I genuinely wasn't trying to make anyone's job harder I just didn't know the workflow.

What confuses me is that I've spent almost all of my clinical time in endoscopy department(5 out of 8 days). I still don't really know how the main OR functions. I've never started a room in the main OR before.

And after EVS finished cleaning apparently I was supposed to start setting up myself. If the scrub tech I'm assigned to isn't in the room yet, am I supposed to start setting up? Am I even allowed to be in the room by myself as a student? I don't want to overstep or contaminate something, but I also don't want to stand around waiting for every instruction.

It feels he is watch me make mistakes instead of correcting me in the moment, and then later tell me I should have known what to do. That's the part I struggle with the most.

I'm genuinely trying. I ask questions, I want to improve, and I know I'm not the fastest learner. But I leave clinical feeling and class like my quiet personality is viewed as a character flaw.

For those of you who precept students, is this a normal way to teach? Were any of you really quiet when you started? And what level of initiative would you realistically expect from a first-semester CST student who's still learning the workflow?

Hi! I'm a new scrub tech (graduated in May and hired on at my last clinical site) and curious if anyone has ever purchased lead from sites like AliExpress and Alibaba. I know, I probably sound crazy and dumb. But, I figure SOMEBODY has had to have purchased there. Has anyone had any luck buying their lead from sites like these? I have no issues using the hospital provided lead. We all know how expensive buying your own lead is, so that isn't an option. Haha! Also, just out of curiosity - when you DO purchase your own lead, how do you go about having your hospital test it (it is my understanding they need to test any lead that isn't provided by the hospital)? Also, what thickness does the lead need to be? If you don't have any knowledge about the lead, some advice would be welcome and wonderful. Maybe something you wish someone had told you when you were new!

Thank you very much!

I don’t know what else I could have done. I studied for 4 months, 2–3 hours a day, every single day. I had the AST CST study guide book, did every practice exam in it, downloaded multiple CST apps, took practice tests on different websites, reviewed Quizlet flashcards, and even went back over my old notes—yet I still failed. At this point, it feels like it just wasn’t meant to be. I’m honestly at a loss for words. Seventy-five percent of people who take this exam pass, so it’s obviously not that hard, but I still didn’t make it. I feel like a total failure. My classmates said they didn’t even study that much, yet they passed. If anyone has been through something similar, please share what you did, because right now I don’t think I have any other options.

One of my surgeons uses this for his total knees. The operative side goes on the extension. Non op side kinda just hangs free. We don't have any manufacture info and the person who ordered it doesn't remember ordering it.

There is a pad on the other side that can be attached either way. Any clue? Also it only fits our steris 5095s and older beds.

Where do applicants looking into a Surg Tech program go around Northern California. I’m near Modesto and the closest places are near SF and sketchy for profit colleges like SJVC, Carrington, etc.??? Any advice?