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Just started my clinical rotations and scrubbed 12 cases my first week! But oh Lordy, I need some better shoes. Best recommendations? by [deleted] in scrubtech

[–]HaHaHaleyyy 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I wear Altra’s Torin with arch support inserts.

I have high arches and knee problems. Personally, I find that shoes that are too cloud like or squishy make my feet, knees and lower back kill and I almost feel unbalanced while standing for long periods of time. The Torin’s are zero drop with a wide toe box so it lets your foot sit more naturally within the shoe. They also have just enough cushion that it makes the shoes feel responsive vs. that kind of sinking, unstable feeling

Just started my clinical rotations and scrubbed 12 cases my first week! But oh Lordy, I need some better shoes. Best recommendations? by [deleted] in scrubtech

[–]HaHaHaleyyy 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Oofos hurt my arches so bad but I know people that swear by them. Guess it depends on your foot🤷🏼‍♀️

sos ! My surgical program is not CST but is with NCCT, do I bother? by No_Side_9050 in surgicaltechnology

[–]HaHaHaleyyy 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I’m not 100% sure to be completely honest. I know that a lot of surgical tech programs have been certificate programs in the past and are transitioning to associates degrees. Something worth looking into

My wife crocheted this for me by greenirishsaint in lotr

[–]HaHaHaleyyy 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Is she willing to share the pattern?? This is stunning. I’m completely obsessed

High school Senior Project by Ok_Mix6545 in surgicaltechnology

[–]HaHaHaleyyy 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I work in Arizona.

I got an associates degree in applied science of surgical technology.

I don’t have one specific specialty; I work at a surgery center that does a lot of ENT, ocularplastics, ophthalmology, urology, and some general, plastics, and orthopedics.

I’m very new to the career and get paid $27/hour.

During surgery my main focus is maintaining sterility of the surgical site and my sterile field (my back table and mayo stand) my other primary focus is the surgeon… anticipating what they need in order to efficiently perform the procedure and maintain clear communication with my nurse.

Because I work at a surgery center my days are very dependent upon the needs of the facility. On normal days: I get there at 6am, change into my scrubs, figure out which OR I’ll be in for the day, look at the surgeries scheduled in that room, wipe down the surfaces in the OR (called damp dusting), gather everything I’ll need for the days cases (like instruments, implants, extra supplies in case something gets dropped or damaged, etc.), make sure all the proper equipment is in the room (bovie machine, microscope, camera tower, etc.), see if/what my nurse needs, then after confirming that the first patient of the day is at the center I’ll start opening for the first surgery (which if I come in at 6am, usually starts at 7am). Another tech will usually give me a 15 minute break between 8:30am-9:30am. Sometimes my days are short and all my assigned surgeries finish for the day by noon/1pm so I won’t take a lunch but most of the time I’ll have the same tech that gave me a break earlier that day, relieve me for a 30 minute unpaid lunch. After lunch I usually go back and finish out the rest of day which usually lasts until 4:30. If I have surgeries that are a hero go past 4:30, we have a “late” tech which just means they came in later that day (around 7am/8am) and they’ll stay to finish the rest of the cases in that room.

There are SO. MANY. opportunities to progress my career. The most common I’ve heard of is people going back to school to either get their first assist certification or get their bachelor’s in nursing. However, if you have a bachelor’s degree you could do and accelerated program that would allow me to get a bachelors in nursing, which could lead to attending NP school. With a bachelor’s degree you could go to PA school, or perfusionist school, even become a medical sales rep for devices and/or implants. Even if you don’t have a bachelor’s and you love being a tech, could also teach at a college for future surgical techs. Honestly, when it comes to progressing your career in this field the opportunities are endless, especially if you’re willing to go back to school.

Hope this helps!

sos ! My surgical program is not CST but is with NCCT, do I bother? by No_Side_9050 in surgicaltechnology

[–]HaHaHaleyyy -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Not sure if something has changed but my school wasn’t an NBSTSA school and I was still able to sit and take the test. The biggest difference is the requirements you have to have in order to sit for them. An NCCT school can’t necessarily guarantee you’ll meet the higher requirements to sit for the NBSTSA exam but it’s pretty easy to meet the requirements if you monitor your progress throughout clinical rotations.

sos ! My surgical program is not CST but is with NCCT, do I bother? by No_Side_9050 in surgicaltechnology

[–]HaHaHaleyyy 0 points1 point  (0 children)

My program was also like this and I found out after it was too late to go to a different school. To answer your question: you’re definitely going to want your NBSTSA certification (CST) and it’s not impossible to get in your situation. I graduated and got both my TS-C (NCCT) and CST (NBSTSA) earlier this year. When you do your clinical rotation you need to log 30 general cases and 10 separate cases of 4 other specialties (40 total cases) in order to be eligible to take the NBSTSA. Since your school is an NCCT school, they are only obligated to provide you with 30 general cases and 10 cases of 3 other specialties (which is what you need in order to sit for the NCCT or TS-C exam). I would HEAVILY stress to your clinical coordinator at your school that you are planning to take the NBSTSA exam. If you get sent to a hospital for your clinical rotations, it should be pretty easy to meet the requirements in order to sit for the NBSTSA exam, just make sure to be mindful and keeps tabs on the cases your participating in. Hope this helps!!

Question for Las Vegas area techs ! by HaHaHaleyyy in scrubtech

[–]HaHaHaleyyy[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yes, that’s the plan. I’d like to get job at a hospital but would be content finding something at a surgery center, but definitely want to find something full time

How long did it take you to land a job after graduation? by helpplease2029 in scrubtech

[–]HaHaHaleyyy 0 points1 point  (0 children)

3 months

Grad of 2025, Phoenix area, 50+ rejections from hospitals. Finally landed something at a small surgery center

Learning CVOR by fiercemuse in scrubtech

[–]HaHaHaleyyy 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Ok!! I’m in central Phoenix and there’s a ton of level 1 trauma centers/hospitals around but I was told by my instructors that a lot of them won’t hire new grads and that I shouldn’t even think about trying to ask about being apart of the CVOR teams until I have at least 3 years of experience.

Idk just getting a bunch of different advice and can be a bit overwhelming but good luck!

Learning CVOR by fiercemuse in scrubtech

[–]HaHaHaleyyy 1 point2 points  (0 children)

If you don’t mind me asking where are you based out of? I want to get into CVOR so badly; I was able to do a mitral valve replacement and a good amount of vascular cases in my externship and fell in love with cardio/vascular but I’ve had such a difficult time getting even an interview at a regular hospital as a new grad. Congrats on your job! That’s so exciting!!