What does a surgical tech job duties involve?

Prior to surgery, you "open up" the operating room. You basically set up all the sterile drapes, items, and instruments and you account for them with a "circulating nurse". When the surgeon and anesthesia staff are ready, you move the "mayo" stand with instruments on it and the "back table" with other supplies up close and hand the surgeon what they need. You usually know ahead of time what they'll be asking for, so they depend on you to be alert and prepared. Some surgical techs "assist" by holding organs and tissues out of the way of the surgeon. At various times during the procedure, you will be asked to account for the same things you did with the circulating nurse before the surgery began. At the end of the surgery, you prepare the instruments to be cleaned (usually by shaking off any residual tissue and putting needles and blades in a sharps box). You also do a basic clean up of drapes and things so that the housekeeping staff can come right in and mop and wipe down things (that's called "turning the OR over).

General career info: http://www.bls.gov/oco and can search 'surgical technicians' or such. There may not be that many jobs though since there are only 'so many' hospitals in each area that may hire surgical techs.

If still interested, please consider the more affordable county vo-tech school or community college as opposed to those private $$ tech schools as long as it's accredited in the industry.

Before making a career decision I always look into the job market first. I've noticed that there are not too many surgical tech positions available. There are many more opportunities for a MA. Look online and try to find jobs in both areas and see what you find. It's also good to talk to people within the profession. They have the best info!

http://science.education.nih.gov/LifeWorks.nsf/Alp...

http://www.ast.org/professionals/about_prof.aspx

http://www.explorehealthcareers.org/en/Career.35.a...