Certified Surgical Technologist

CST Opportunity

Position at Norwalk Hospital Association. CST Opportunity! Must have active CST licensure to be considered. Full-Time Day/Evening rotating shifts includes weekends as needed and on call.

At Nuvance Health, we enjoy the benefits of a two-state system as we cultivate an inclusive culture where everyone feels welcomed, respected and supported. Together, we are a team of 15,000+ strong hearts and open minds. If you share our values of connected, personal, agile and imaginative, we invite you to discover what's possible for you and your career. Norwalk Hospital is a 366-bed academic and community medical center serving Fairfield County, Connecticut, and the surrounding New York Metro area. We are a Level II Trauma Center and Joint Replacement Center of Excellence, and we provide advanced cancer, heart, and neuroscience care. Our accolades include the following:

• The Leapfrog Group - Grade A for quality and patient safety
• Healthgrades - America's 50 Best Hospitals
• U.S. News & World Report - high performance in heart failure treatment

At Norwalk Hospital, we prioritize the health and well-being of our team, fostering a friendly and supportive culture where collaboration and compassion are at the heart of what we do. From the moment you step through our doors, you'll experience a sense of community that makes our hospital a truly special place to work. Our employees feel a deep connection here because we're not just part of the community – we are its center.

Job Description

Summary:

Works under the direct supervision of a registered nurse while delivering safe and effective care to the patient during the intra-operative period. Provides technical care to the surgical patient through the role of the scrub assistant. Effectively interacts with patients of all ages and health care team members, while maintaining the surgical department standards.

Responsibilities:

Maintains a sterile environment and practices the principles of aseptic technique. Maintains appropriate sterile/unsterile boundaries during surgery while functioning within a sterile field. Ensures integrity of sterile packages before dispensing onto a sterile field to include looking at expiration dates. Identifies breaks in sterile technique and reports to the Circulating RN. Demonstrates the proper selection of instrumentation based on the scheduled procedure. Checks case cart prior to the patient entering the room for appropriate instruments/supplies. Prepares the surgical room with the Circulator utilizing the physicians preference card and ensures all jackets are buttoned prior to dispensing items onto the sterile field to ensure sterility. Assures that special supplies/instruments are available prior to the patient entering the room. Communicates to the Circulating RN in a timely manner any outliers preventing the scheduled case from moving forward. Utilizes correct methods of cleaning and disinfection for different types of instruments. Prepares opened trays and instruments for decontamination by spraying & wiping down gross soil, ensuring instrument jaws are kept opened and instruments with lumens are irrigated before going to decontamination. Cleans, tags and removes from all broken instrument and or equipment from circulation. Disassembles used loaner instruments and wipes gross soil and inventories tray for completion prior to transporting to decontamination area. Communicates to SPD in a timely manner any instrument trays needed for next cases. Assists with positioning of the patient maintaining correct patient body alignment based on the scheduled procedure. Has appropriate positioning devices, OR bed and padding readily available prior to the patient entering the room. Maintains the patient's body in correct anatomical alignment. Maintains proper body mechanics when transporting, moving, lifting or positioning of the patient. Communicates to the surgical team any immediate patient safety concerns / outliers such as body piercing, medication patches, broken hardware. Accurately performs surgical counts according to established standards for preventing retained surgical items. Performs initial base line counts of instruments, sponges and sharps according to hospital policy by separating each piece during count and making counts audible and visible. Dispenses appropriate radiopaque surgical soft goods on to the sterile field for use during the procedure (sponges, towels, pushers, laps). Takes caution to ensure all soft goods are return in their entirety. Communicates immediately to the Circulating RN when sponges and towels used in the procedure are not radiopaque. Performs and follows the environment of care practices according to standards for the perioperative setting. Assist with facilitating movement of the patient and personnel into, through, and out of the defined areas within the surgical suite (unrestricted, semi restricted, restricted). Assists with high low dusting of the surgical rooms, wiping off all flat surfaces prior to the first case of the day and wiping down all equipment brought into the OR room (Lap towers, beach chair, positioning devices. Assist with OR room cabinet cleaning and dusting by removing all supplies and materials, taking into account replenishing established par levels and checking for outdates. Communicates to the Circulating RN and takes appropriate actions when breaks in the process occur. Follows the Hospital Policy and AORN recommended practices for surgical attire. Changes into the facility approved freshly laundered surgical attire on a daily basis upon arrival to the department ensuring proper use of available protective equipment (PPE's:head covers, face shields, shoe covers). Removes all jewelry (watches, earrings, rings, necklaces) that can not be contained/confined within the surgical attire prior to starting a procedure. Removes undergarments (T-shirts) that extends above the scrub top neckline or below the sleeve of the surgical attire. Ensure scrub attire top is tucked in the scrub pant or if worn outside of the scrub pant it is close enough to the body to prevent top flapping and contaminating the sterile field. Removes cover apparel when worn outside of the perioperative area (cafeteria, street, elevators) prior to entering the semi restricted area.

Required: Certified Surgical Technologist Licensure. Graduate of an accredited Surgical Technology program. Minimum Experience: zero to six months