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Surgical Assistant resume example

A resume for a Surgical Assistant needs to show the work itself: assist in operations, under the supervision of surgeons. Day to day that means work like this: verify the identity of patient or operative site; monitor and maintain aseptic technique throughout procedures. Recruiters and applicant tracking systems both read for the tasks and tools this role actually involves, so the strongest resume names them in your own experience rather than describing the job in the abstract. Below are the tasks O*NET records for this occupation, the software and tools it uses, the titles it is advertised under, and the skills worth naming if they are genuinely yours.

Also advertised as

The same job is posted under many titles. Searching only your own job title hides most of the openings you could apply to.

  • Certified Surgical First Assistant
  • CSFA
  • Registered Nurse First Assistant
  • RNFA
  • Surgical First Assistant
  • Surgical Technician
  • Surgical Tech
  • Certified First Assistant
  • CFA
  • Certified Registered Nurse First Assistant
  • CRNFA
  • Certified Surgical Assistant
  • CSA
  • Certified Surgical Technician
  • Gastrointestinal Technician
  • GI Technician
  • Surgical Scrub Technician
  • Surgical Scrub Tech

O*NET records 32 titles for this occupation in total.

What people in this job call themselves

Titles reported by people actually doing this work, which is often not the title on the job posting.

  • Certified First Assistant (CFA)
  • Certified Registered Nurse First Assistant (CRNFA)
  • Certified Surgical Assistant (CSA)
  • Certified Surgical First Assistant (CSFA)
  • Gastrointestinal Technician (GI Technician)
  • Registered Nurse First Assistant (RNFA)
  • Surgical Scrub Technician (Surgical Scrub Tech)
  • Surgical Technician (Surgical Tech)

What this work actually involves

Tasks recorded for this occupation, in O*NET's words. If your experience covers one of these, it belongs on your resume in your own words.

  • Verify the identity of patient or operative site.
  • Monitor and maintain aseptic technique throughout procedures.
  • Cover patients with surgical drapes to create and maintain a sterile operative field.
  • Coordinate or participate in the positioning of patients, using body stabilizing equipment or protective padding to provide appropriate exposure for the procedure or to protect against nerve damage or circulation impairment.
  • Maintain an unobstructed operative field, using surgical retractors, sponges, or suctioning and irrigating equipment.
  • Prepare and apply sterile wound dressings.
  • Apply sutures, staples, clips, or other materials to close skin, facia, or subcutaneous wound layers.
  • Discuss with surgeon the nature of the surgical procedure, including operative consent, methods of operative exposure, diagnostic or laboratory data, or patient-advanced directives or other needs.
  • Determine availability of necessary equipment or supplies for operative procedures.
  • Clamp, ligate, or cauterize blood vessels to control bleeding during surgical entry, using hemostatic clamps, suture ligatures, or electrocautery equipment.
  • Assess skin integrity or other body conditions upon completion of the procedure to determine if damage has occurred from body positioning.
  • Assist with patient resuscitation during cardiac arrest or other life-threatening events.

28 tasks are recorded in total; these are the most central.

Example bullets for this role

Built from this occupation's own tasks. The brackets stay empty on purpose: we will not invent a number for you, and a fabricated metric is the fastest way to lose an interview you had already won.

  • Verify the identity of patient or operative site, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].
  • Monitor and maintain aseptic technique throughout procedures, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].
  • Cover patients with surgical drapes to create and maintain a sterile operative field, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].
  • Coordinate or participate in the positioning of patients, using body stabilizing equipment or protective padding to provide appropriate exposure for the procedure or to protect against nerve damage or circulation impairment, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].

Software used in this role

Recorded for this occupation by O*NET. An applicant tracking system matches the exact product name, so write the tool the way the posting writes it.

  • Electronic medical record EMR software
  • MEDITECH software
  • Microsoft Excel
  • Microsoft Office software
  • Microsoft PowerPoint
  • Nursing documentation software
  • Patient scheduling software
  • Patient tracking software
  • Supply documentation software
  • Surgery workflow communication software
  • Word processing software

Tools and equipment

The physical equipment this occupation is recorded as using. Worth naming when a posting asks for it by name.

  • Anesthesia carts
  • Angiocaths
  • Argon beam coagulators
  • Automated external defibrillators AED
  • Blanket warmer cabinets
  • Blood warming equipment
  • Body stabilizers
  • C-arm tables
  • Carbon dioxide CO2 lasers
  • Cardiac monitoring equipment
  • Cast cutting saws
  • Cauterizing equipment

Skills an ATS reads for

Worth naming only if they are genuinely yours. Keyword overlap is one input to a resume's score, not a verdict.

  • Electronic medical record EMR
  • Nursing documentation

What this job rates as most important

O*NET rates every skill for importance to this occupation. These are the highest rated, in order.

  1. 01Active Listening
  2. 02Speaking
  3. 03Critical Thinking
  4. 04Monitoring
  5. 05Reading Comprehension
  6. 06Coordination
  7. 07Service Orientation
  8. 08Complex Problem Solving
  9. 09Operations Monitoring
  10. 10Judgment and Decision Making

Knowledge areas

The subject knowledge this occupation draws on, rated by importance.

  • Medicine and Dentistry
  • Customer and Personal Service
  • English Language
  • Biology
  • Education and Training

What qualifications people in this job have

From O*NET's survey of people doing this work. This is what postholders reported, not a requirement any single employer sets.

  • 25%Associate's Degree
  • 16%Post-Baccalaureate Certificate, awarded for completion of an organized program of study; designed for people who have completed a Baccalaureate degree but do not meet the requirements of academic degrees carrying the title of Master.
  • 15%Post-Secondary Certificate, awarded for training completed after high school

What level this role is pitched at

O*NET places this occupation in “Medium Preparation Needed”. Most occupations in this zone require training in vocational schools, related on-the-job experience, or an associate's degree.

Previous work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is required for these occupations. For example, an electrician must have completed three or four years of apprenticeship or several years of vocational training, and often must have passed a licensing exam, in order to perform the job.

Common questions

What does a Surgical Assistant do?
Assist in operations, under the supervision of surgeons. Day to day that includes work like verify the identity of patient or operative site and Monitor and maintain aseptic technique throughout procedures.
What skills should a Surgical Assistant put on a resume?
O*NET rates Active Listening, Speaking, Critical Thinking, Monitoring, and Reading Comprehension among the most important skills for this occupation. Name the ones that are genuinely yours and show where you used them. A resume that lists skills you do not have is weaker than one that lists fewer.
What software should a Surgical Assistant list?
Software recorded for this occupation includes Electronic medical record EMR software, MEDITECH software, Microsoft Excel, Microsoft Office software, and Microsoft PowerPoint. Applicant tracking systems match on the exact product name, so write the tool as the posting writes it rather than describing it in general terms.
What other job titles cover Surgical Assistant work?
O*NET records 32 titles for this occupation, including Certified Surgical First Assistant, CSFA, Registered Nurse First Assistant, and RNFA. Searching only your own job title hides most of the openings you could apply to.
What qualifications does a Surgical Assistant need?
In O*NET's survey of people doing this job, 25% reported their level of education as "Associate's Degree". That is what current postholders reported, not a requirement any single employer sets.
Will this resume pass an ATS for a Surgical Assistant role?
No tool outside an employer can tell you how that employer's system is configured, including ours. What you can control is that the resume parses cleanly, names the work in the words the posting uses, and does not claim anything you cannot back up.

Related roles

Occupations O*NET records as closest to this one, and worth looking at if this search is not moving.

What this page cannot tell you

  • No tool outside an employer can tell you how that employer’s ATS is configured, including ours.
  • This page makes no claim about pay, demand or how many people hold this job. O*NET does not publish that here and we will not estimate it.
  • Keyword overlap is one input to a resume’s score, not a verdict on you. A resume that names skills you do not have is worse than one that names fewer.

If this is the job you are aiming at, the guide to tailoring a resume covers how to aim one posting properly, and building and exporting a resume here is free.

Occupation data from the O*NET 29.1 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under CC BY 4.0. O*NET is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. SpartanResume is not endorsed by USDOL/ETA.