Surgical technicians' demanding jobs in high demand
CHAMPAIGN – Joella Jones was a single mom in her 20s in search of a career.
And with two young daughters to support, she couldn't spend forever in college.
She discovered the surgical technology field when she was taking a science class, she recalls, and realized it was for her.
She enrolled in the surgical technology program at Parkland College, and went to work for Carle Foundation Hospital right after she graduated.
Some 25 years later, she can sum up how she feels about her job in three words:
"I love it."
Under the guidance of instructor Joella Jones, center, a surgery technologist at Carle Foundation Hospital, Erika Barrier, left, and Yunjoo Yim demonstrate a simulated hernia inguinal procedure during a surgical open house as part of National Technology Week in September at Parkland College. The students are both in their second year of the surgical technology program, which offers an associate degree to budding scrubs. By Heather Coit
Surgical technologists, also known as scrubs, work in operating rooms assisting the surgeon – setting up instruments before procedures and handing them to the doctor while surgeries are under way.
"The surgical technologists have to know the surgical procedures as well as the surgeon," said Jody Randolph, director of Parkland's surgical technology program. "They need to think like the surgeon, so they're a step ahead all the time."
Nurses used to fill this role, but technology in the operating room has grown increasingly complex, Randolph said.
Nurses still work in surgeries, but their role today is much broader than assisting in the sterile field around the patient, according to Julie Hudson, a registered nurse and director of perioperative services at Carle.
Hudson said a surgical technologist keeps his or her eyes on the surgeon. Nurses have their eyes on everybody in the operating room, monitoring the entire surgery environment and handling the tasks that help keep the patient safe.
"We provide the environment and we take care of everybody, the team and the patient," she said.
Today's nurses aren't trained to handle the surgical technologist's job, but occasionally some seasoned nurses at Carle who have had the training or those who are former surgical technologists do fill in for scrubs, Hudson said.
People who excel as a surgical technologist tend to be detail-oriented and good at prioritizing and multitasking, Randolph said.
And, "you need to have a strong sense of self, because surgery isn't always the most pleasant place to work. Things start going bad and people start yelling, and if you take it personally, you're not going to last."
Jones, 49, of Champaign, has spent her entire career at Carle and could think of only one thing she doesn't love about her work: standing on her feet for hours at a time.
She works mostly on orthopedic cases, and she's fascinated with how the body is put together.
"I love going from broken to mended," she said.
As surgical technologists grow more experienced in their profession, Jones said, the doctors they assist don't even need to ask for an instrument during a procedure because the technologists already know what to hand them.
"A lot of surgeons just have to hold their hand out," she said.
The surgical technology program at Parkland takes about two years from start to finish, including completion of general education classes.
Most of the surgical technology curriculum comes in the second year, with an eight-week class in the fall of the second year devoted to sterile procedures. Students must pass that class to continue, Randolph said.
Parkland admits 20 students a year to the surgical technology program and graduates about 15 of them, losing some students along the way who find they don't like working in an operating room after all.
"It's very high responsibility and very high stress, and you don't know what it's like until you get up there," Randolph said.
The job outlook for surgical technologists is good. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics said that field has been expanding faster than the average for all occupations as surgery volume increases.
With aging baby boomers needing more medical care and the new procedures that are becoming available, the government has projected employment of surgical technologists will grow 24 percent between 2006 and 2016.
Typically 95 percent of Parkland's surgical technology students are snapped up by hospitals and surgery centers before they graduate, Randolph said.
And the rest, among them graduates with plans to relocate, find work fast when they're ready.
Jones, who also works as a part-time instructor in Parkland's surgical technology program, said the field is also a good launching point for those interested in going on to other health care professions.
Surgical technology is also becoming an increasingly popular choice for people with bachelor's and master's degrees coming to Parkland to retrain for a new career, Randolph said.
Age isn't a factor in admissions, she added, but older adults considering this field for a career change might want to consider that it's physically demanding work.
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