First Assistant Role:
Surgical First Assistant (SFA or SA) or
Certified Surgical Technologist/First Assistant (CST/FA)
Surgical First Assistants practice under the direct supervision of surgeons
in many hospitals, medical centers, and outpatient surgery centers. A SFA
is granted privileges to practice at these facilities following a thorough
review by a medical credentials committee called a credentialing process.
Billing practices for the first assistant vary from state to state or insurance
company. The SFA must maintain medical malpractice insurance and are
subject to the rules, regulations, and bylaws of the facility that they practice
within.
The terms Surgical Assistant, Surgical First Assistant and Certified Surgical
Technologist First Assistant describe individuals who routinely assist surgeons
with many types of surgical procedures. The qualifications of the
person may vary with the nature of the operation, the surgical specialty, and
the type of hospital or ambulatory surgical facility. The American College
of Surgeons supports the concept that, ideally, the first assistant at the
operating table should be a qualified surgeon or a resident in an approved
surgical education program. However, it may be come necessary to utilize
nonphysicians as first assistants. A Surgical Assistant (SA) or physician
assistant (PA) with additional training should meet national standards and be
credentialed by the appropriate local authority. These individuals are not
authorized to operate independently.
What Does a Surgical Assistant do? The first assistant during a
surgical operation should be a trained individual who is able to participate in
and actively assist the surgeon in completing the operation safely and
expeditiously by helping to provide exposure, maintain hemostasis, tie or sew, and serve
other technical functions. The surgical assistant is limited to
performing specific functions as identified by the medical staff bylaws, rules
and regulations. These generally include such statements as: aiding in
maintaining adequate exposure in the operating field, cutting suture materials,
clamping and ligating bleeding vessels, and, in selected instances, actually
performing designated parts of a procedure. A designated first assistant
can not be involved in any other role or function during the surgical procedure
such as the scrub role (passing instruments). Simple procedures such as a hernia
repair do not require a first assistant.
Education: Graduate of an approved CAAHEP program.
Programs vary in length from 9 months to 22 months.
For more information go to the web site
http://www.surgicalassistant.org
or http://www.nsaa.net for national
information and
http://www.floridasurgicalassistants.org for Florida information. For
testing information follow the links from the association pages. For a
statement by the American College of Surgeons on the role of the first
assistant go to http://absa.net/acs_&_ama_policies.htm
Comparison of Programs - Click
here for information regarding educational schools available for surgical
assistants. Gulf Coast Community College hopes to offer a surgical
assistant program in the future of our surgical technology training programs.
Credentialing Organizations include: The American board of
Surgical Assistants, The Association of Surgical Technologists, The National
Surgical Assistant Association, The American Board of Surgical Assisting.
Physician Assistants are credentialed by The American Academy of Physician
Assistants. Registered Nurse First Assistants are credentialed by The
Association of Perioperative Registered Nurses.
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