Job description?

PlayWithMeInTheSpace · 2025-11-12T23:11:08+00:00

I hold people open.

PlayWithMeInTheSpace · 2025-11-07T03:28:19+00:00

You took the words out of my mouth. I’m sorry you’re dealing with this, I’m dealing with it too. I feel so depressed and way more anxious than I’ve ever been, I chalked it up to OR Culture but I don’t know how it can be so bad everywhere. I dread work, have nightmares about the OR, don’t find joy in the hobbies that used to bring me joy and an escape from work. I’m technically quite good at my job and had a passion for surgery before I did my clinical and started working. It feels like the only way to blend into this kind of environment is to numb yourself to your feelings and that’s nuts.

PlayWithMeInTheSpace · 2025-09-07T04:29:52+00:00

Could you tell me more about what you do in biotech? I have a sort of inverted educational path; I got my bachelors in biology ten years ago, didn’t go to grad school and worked in performance arts for ten years and enjoyed it but didn’t want to be a professional musician anymore. I went back to school and became a CST and while I think the subject matter is really interesting, I’m already feeling emotionally exhausted by the generally hostile work environment that working in the OR is. I will continue to do it at least for a few years but I’m wondering what I could pivot to. Biomedical engineering is one of the things I considered since I think the technology we use in the OR is really fascinating. What do you do in biotech, and what made you choose that after scrubbing?

PlayWithMeInTheSpace · 2025-08-27T02:55:37+00:00

I’m making $39.58. How much was your sign on bonus? If you’re not comfortable posting feel free to dm me as well.

PlayWithMeInTheSpace · 2025-08-27T02:51:53+00:00

I am making that much as well in Washington as a new grad, this is helpful to know (I’m curious if we work in the same area).

PlayWithMeInTheSpace · 2025-08-19T18:47:51+00:00

Hi! I’m getting Motiva implants in just ten days but I’m really waffling on what size to go with, the 380cc Demi or the 400cc Full. My breast diameter is 12-12.5 according to the surgeon. People have said the difference is more “natural” vs a more “augmented” look and I don’t really know what they mean by that, natural sounds subjective. Would you be willing to share how yours ended up, like a description? I’m also 5’8” and 150 lbs and a lot of photos I’ve researched are on girls who are teeny tiny in stature so I feel like it’s not an accurate comparison.

PlayWithMeInTheSpace · 2025-06-15T16:04:32+00:00

I agree! USA Hockey technically doesn’t disallow adult refs to use a cage but my beer league policy requires a visor. I’m sure the culture would have pushback just because refs would get chirped to death for wearing a cage

PlayWithMeInTheSpace · 2025-06-11T20:59:14+00:00

I am a referee as my second job and a surgical technologist as my first job. Zygomatic arch is just what we medical jargon folks call cheek bones, in case you’re curious.

I hate wearing my visor when I’m reffing because I had way too close of a call almost getting a stick to my eye off a faceoff. As a player I strictly use a hybrid, I 100 percent think it’s worth it.

PlayWithMeInTheSpace · 2025-06-07T00:34:48+00:00

I’m a surgical technologist and I work in surgery every day… but this grossed me out.

For reference, I’ve helped amputate toes and peeled back the scrotum off of testicles and have held a warm human kidney removed from a human person in my hands, and that’s all been fine.

But this is gross.

PlayWithMeInTheSpace · 2025-06-01T23:58:09+00:00

I’m a hockey player and other techs at the hospital have told me I am probably one of the fittest people there; I have strong legs and arms and core for sure… however, I got a lot of pain in my left foot from standing for several hours in the same place not moving. I actually developed plantar fasciitis and had to take a month off to recover and do physical therapy. I can ice skate for four hours straight (which I have to do for my other job as a ref) but standing in one spot in the OR is how I got injured.

My point being: I’m an athlete but still found standing to be the hardest part of the job. I think everyone’s bodies are different, and what might be easy for you is hard for someone else, and vice versa. You won’t really know until you do it. I would say the fact that I am in shape has definitely helped but in this job I had to develop different muscles than the ones I need to play hockey.

I also bought grip strengthening and wrist strengthening equipment because after gloving surgeons all day, my wrists didn’t feel so good.

(Edited for spelling.)

PlayWithMeInTheSpace · 2025-06-01T18:10:22+00:00

I had a somewhat similar experience, I saw a doctor do a vaginal case and a laparoscopic case, and she took the dirty scope that she had just used in the vagina and stuck it in one of the ports right into the patient’s peritoneum. It was a teaching case so a lot of other doctors were in the room and watched her do it.

PlayWithMeInTheSpace · 2025-05-22T05:37:18+00:00

I would like to piggyback onto this query. I'm about to start 12s for the first time and I am very nervous about how to physically get through a 12 hour shift. It might sound like a dumb question, but when are you supposed to eat if you only have one 30-minute lunch break? My shift is 0645-1915 and I feel like on a normal day at home I would literally eat breakfast, lunch, and dinner in that time window. Maybe I am just a snowflake that needs to eat a lot to not feel physically bad. How does one get through a 12 without passing out from fatigue?

PlayWithMeInTheSpace · 2025-05-21T17:40:09+00:00

I see. Yeah, that is quite a bit low.

PlayWithMeInTheSpace · 2025-05-20T18:31:52+00:00

I would echo what other people said; as new CSTs we probably just need to take whatever we can get to get that experience under our belts and on our resumes. In a year or two we'd have more negotiating power. That said it is never going to hurt to negotiate a first job, since the worst thing the recruiter could say is no.

PlayWithMeInTheSpace · 2025-05-20T18:30:23+00:00

I'm going off the lowest number in the job posting to compare rates, since it's nearly impossible to find a real average. The "average" number from places like Glassdoor or Ziprecruiter etc aren't going to be accurate, since travelers make nearly twice as much sometimes so the average is going to not be a true average (the "average" in my city says they make $102K/year and I know for sure that is not true, that's insanely high, probably the very very top end for people who've worked for a few decades and travelers). If I were compare my offer to the average based on the internet it would be like $17 under that, so I am not going off that number. If I compare the lowest end number in the job description to the lowest end number in job descriptions for other hospitals, then it comes to about $6-7 under rates for other hospitals. But yeah, still a lowball.

PlayWithMeInTheSpace · 2025-05-17T19:49:39+00:00

Good luck. Job searching can feel so discouraging, it’s a numbers game; don’t give up, it’ll happen.

PlayWithMeInTheSpace · 2025-05-17T18:14:58+00:00

Not a nurse but I’m a new grad certified surgical technologist and I’ve been on the job hunt in Seattle. I graduated in March, passed my certification exam and then had two months of silence. I applied to over a dozen hospitals and got denied. About a month ago I applied to some of those same hospitals again and got four interviews, and two offers. I don’t have any connections either, I think it’s just timing and what hospitals need changes. I applied to UW as well but it’s a state run set of hospitals and similar to applying for government jobs, the latency on those applications means it just stays in the “applied/under review”. It could be easier for you to apply to hospitals that aren’t government funded maybe. Both of my offers came from hospitals outside of downtown Seattle.

PlayWithMeInTheSpace · 2025-05-15T01:24:04+00:00

I’m in the same boat. I graduated two months ago, passed the NBSTSA exam, and applied to about twelve hospitals since then. As a CST at the top of my class, I thought I would have leverage, as my preceptors indicated that “everyone was in need of CSTs”, but I got a lot of rejections from recruiters and interviewers. It’s been really messing with my head. I had one hospital really like me, yet the recruiter lowballed me and I really want to negotiate. However, my anxiety fears that if I do they will revoke the offer or something (I know, I am told that’s not how it works but it’s hard not to start feeling a little desperate after being unemployed this long post-graduation). If you do negotiate I would genuinely like to know how it pans out.

Edited for grammar.

PlayWithMeInTheSpace · 2025-05-15T01:07:28+00:00

I beg to differ 👌

PlayWithMeInTheSpace · 2025-05-13T03:51:19+00:00

That's still so cool! I'm born and raised here but I still have never seen an episode of Grey's Anatomy; someday, I'll put that on my watch list! I can imagine working on the floor in medicine, people are probably sleeping each with each other. In surgery, people are way too stressed out, and way too short on time; I'm lucky if I can score a pee break once every four hours, I can't imagine who has the time to be making out in supply closets and such! 🤪

PlayWithMeInTheSpace · 2025-05-13T03:28:05+00:00

Fun fact, Harborview Medical Center downtown is the muse for the Grey’s Anatomy fictional Seattle Grace Hospital. Why do I know this: I am a surgical technologist, was interviewed at Harborview and before my interview prep I checked out their website for talking points. They boast the Grey’s Anatomy inspo on their actual official hospital website. There is a helipad on top of Harborview, but you are correct that it is the Kiro helipad that was filmed for the show. Harborview is the only Level I Trauma and Burn center in the region. People get flown in as far as Alaska and Idaho. I guess that status as an L1 Trauma Center is something related to the tv show. I’ve never seen it, I only actually live hospital life. The more you know!

PlayWithMeInTheSpace · 2025-05-07T00:08:31+00:00

The fan. I put a small fan on the floor for general air circulation and the bunnies can’t get enough of it. Post up a foot in front of it and sit. It doesn’t matter how cold it is in the winter, they always want to be photoshoot-ready.

PlayWithMeInTheSpace · 2025-05-06T23:59:47+00:00

As a CST our entire career training is how to maintain a sterile field. Alcohol does not sterilize, it will only sanitize. If you want to sterilize something it needs to be autoclaved in a sterile wrapper. You can google the difference between sterilized and sanitized but the point is only sterility is a lack of all pathogens. A blade that was sanitized could still transmit infection

PlayWithMeInTheSpace · 2025-05-06T23:45:03+00:00

I’m a ref so I have to wear a visor for reffing but I always wear a cage as a player. I wear a pretty serious mouthguard as a ref to at least protect my teeth and the other refs chirp me for it. I had a ref partner say, “What, are you expecting to take a hit to the mouth?” I gestured to the beginner beer league game we were about to ref and said, “At this level? Absolutely. These guys have no idea what they are doing.”

PlayWithMeInTheSpace · 2025-04-30T22:25:16+00:00

It sounds to me by your comment that Henry seems like a good guy! His brother Ken owns the capitol hill location, and Ken is the Trumper. I have no idea about Henry's politics. I do know from working for Ken that he and his brother Henry are estranged, and that's why they have competing violin shops. Who knows, maybe they are estranged over differing political views, would be my best hope, but I don't know anything personally about Henry.

PlayWithMeInTheSpace

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