NEEDED: SURGICAL TECHNOLOGIST / TECHNICIAN (or) REGISTERED NURSE (with Surgical Tech experience)

LOCATION: One Veterans Drive, Minneapolis, MN 55417

HOURS:

• VA Business Hours: Open 24 hours per day, 7 days a week, 365 days per year.
• The operating room hours are Monday through Friday 6:30 a.m. – 7:30 p.m.
• Weekend hours are based on urgent and emergent cases.

SHIFTS: Shift posted at a minimum of 3 weeks in advance. Key personnel will be scheduled (Monday – Friday) for the following shifts:

• 7:00 am – 3:30 pm
• 9:30 am – 6:00 pm
• 11:00 am – 7:30 pm

CALL COVERAGE: Personnel will rotate with VA staff to provide off hours call coverage. Off hours call coverage hours are:

• Weekday: Monday – Thursday, 7:00 pm – 6:30 am
• Weekend: Friday at 7:00 pm – Monday at 6:30 am
• Holidays: varies depending on the holiday

Call coverage may result in call back to staff the OR at the medical center.

On-call personnel must be available with 15 minutes by phone and on-site within 60 minutes.

QUALIFICATIONS:

License (Registered Nurse) :

• Shall have a current license to practice medicine in any State, Territory, or Commonwealth of the United States or the District of Columbia when services are performed onsite on VA property. All licenses shall be full and unrestricted licenses. If you ever had, a license restricted, suspended, revoked, voluntarily revoked, voluntarily surrendered pending action or denied upon application will not be considered for this position.
• Shall be currently certified in Basic Life Support (BLS).
• All continuing education courses required for maintaining certification must be always kept up to date.

Certification (Surgical Technologist/Technician) :

• Shall be certified as a Certified Operating Room Technician or Surgical Technologist by the National Board of Surgical Technology and Surgical Assisting (www.nbstsa.org) or the National Center for Competency Testing (www.ncctinc.com).
• Shall be currently certified in Basic Life Support (BLS).
• All continuing education courses required for maintaining certification must be always kept up to date.

RESPONSIBILITIES: Direct Patient Care: 99% of the time involved in direct patient care.

• Shall be responsible for providing surgical care, including, but not limited to:
• Surgical Care: Shall provide clinical surgical scrubbing services in the scrubbing roll.
• Shall be present on time for any scheduled shifts as documented by physical presence in the operating room at the scheduled start time.
• Provide on call coverage as assigned including nights, weekends, and holidays.
• Cover all shifts rotating evenly amongst staff. Surgical care includes, but is not limited to:
• Assist in training and provides guidance to residents, medical, nursing, and surgical technology students in the operating room. Assist staff in surgical techniques and operating room procedures to include scrub person role during surgical procedures.
• Provides emotional support to patients in a variety of stage of adult development.
• Delivers care to patients in a respectful, nonjudgmental manner.
• Maintains patient privacy/confidentiality.
• Informs surgeons and staff about specialty surgical preferences.
• Provides patients and staff with consistent information according to established policies and procedures.
• Supports the healthcare team through the reinforcement of patient education. Partnering :
• Remains current on updates in surgical technology through continuing education courses.
• Assists surgical team members in quality improvement activities.
• Assists the team members with care of the patient, i.e., positioning, prepping, and obtaining supplies.
• Plans and discusses each procedure with surgical professionals and assures that all supplies and equipment are available prior to the surgical procedure.
• Handles instruments, supplies and equipment during surgical procedures such as open heart, ophthalmology, neurosurgery, etc. ranging from simple to complex.
• Observes and responds promptly to each stage of the surgical procedure and anticipates the needs of the surgeon by maintaining a high level of concentration for extended periods of time.
• Prepares prosthesis and surgical devices during procedures. Safety Engineering :
• Sets up sterile field with all required items for each procedure such as air-powered equipment, fiber optic equipment, laparoscopic equipment, microscopes, lasers, arthroscopy equipment, urological equipment, recording devices, and other operating room supplies and equipment.
• Utilizes universal precautions and follows infection control policies and procedures when handling specimens, supplies and equipment.
• Performs sponge, needle, and instrument counts prior to the surgical incision before the closure of all cavities and at the termination of the operation.
• Accountable for all instruments, needles, sharps and equipment utilized during the surgical procedure.
• Maintaining the sterile field throughout the surgical procedure.
• Assures that all instruments, supplies, and equipment are ready for the surgical procedure.
• Maintains delivery or care to patients in a variety of stages of adult development.
• Recognize and respond to a variety of critical situations, including emergency and life-threatening conditions.
• Provides patient information to the RN/Anesthesia team for inclusion in the patient’s plan of care.
• Handles all specimens appropriately.
• Performs non-technical maintenance on equipment to ensure proper operating prior to usage.
• Maintains surgical work area such as routinely cleaning area and removing outdates or expired items.
• Identifies potentially hazardous situations and removes hazardous equipment from the work area.
• Shall follow all established medication policies and procedures. No sample medications shall be provided to patients.
• Shall provide discharge education and follow up instructions that are coordinated with the next care setting for all Optometry clinical patients.
• Mechanisms must be in-place to provide notification of test results for patients receiving care in accordance with VHA Directive 1088, Communicating Test Results to Providers and Patients.

BENEFITS:

• Competitive Hourly Pay Rate
• Accrued Vacation
• Accrued Sick Leave
• 11 Paid Federal Holidays
• 401K opportunity
• Healthcare Benefits Contribution

MINIMUM REQUIRED DOCUMENTS TO BE CONSIDERED:

• Professional Resume
• Professional License or Certification
• Basic License Support Certification