OPERATING ROOM ASSISTANT

Summary of Role

The Operating Room Assistant (ORA) role reflects The Surgery Center’s Mission by providing competent, convenient, cost-effective, quality surgical care. Reflects the values of teamwork, trust, respect, and confidentiality. The ORA performs a variety of duties as a support member of the surgical team, helping to clean the OR between cases, arrange equipment for use in surgical cases, and will be trained in sterile technique to open sterile instruments to the field. The ORA is responsible for other activities as assigned by the Supervisor. Must be willing to travel between satellite locations, work flexible days and hours as needed including evenings, job duties as assigned and have computer technical knowledge.

Key Responsibilities

• Adheres to hand washing requirements, workflow patterns, standard precautions, sterility assurance, and dress code.
• Assists OR staff according to AORN Recommended Practices and unit policies.
• Handles sharps appropriately, per policy.
• Prepares clean and contaminated instruments and supplies utilized in the Surgery suite for transport, in an appropriate manner, and transports to decontamination for processing and re-sterilization.
• Demonstrates care of delicate instrumentation by proper handling and storage of instruments.
• Demonstrates knowledge and ability to operate equipment used in processing, including instrumentation such as ultrasonic cleaner, washer-disinfector, Sterrad and autoclave, using the appropriate settings.
• Assists in Surgery suite maintenance including case preparation, turn-over, and terminal cleaning. Follows AORN Recommended Practices and the Surgery Center’s policy.
• Adheres to all infection control policies including OSHA guidelines for Universal Precautions for exposure to blood and body fluids, utilizing appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE) and sharps handling.
• Shows flexibility in meeting the needs of the Surgery Center and the clinical units.
• Maintains strict patient and professional confidentiality.

Qualifications

Education

• High School diploma or equivalent is required. CPR training within 6 months of hire.

Experience

• No experience required.
• CNA experience and/or health care related experience preferred.
• Operating Room experience a plus.
• Willing to train the right candidate.

Knowledge/Skills/Abilities

• Must be able to work independently with minimal supervision required.
• Must be able to prioritize work by order of importance and work effectively under stress in a surgical environment.
• Demonstrated interpersonal and communication skills.
• Must support team members by stepping in whenever necessary to handle additional duties within the expectations of this role.
• Knowledge of Medical Terminology to understand instrumentation, surgical procedures, and surgical schedule preferred.
• Ability to read and comprehend complex instructions, correspondence, and memos.
• Must be willing to travel between satellite locations, work flexible days and hours as needed, including evenings.

Work Environment

• Normal perioperative environment with exposure to chemical odors, cleaning solvents and other hazardous materials. Must follow established procedures to ensure safety.
• Exposure to possible injury when working with electrical equipment which require care and following proper safety procedures.
• In the care of patients, protection required against blood-borne pathogens.
• Ability to lift/transfer patients in excess of 100 pounds, which may require pushing, pulling, and utilizing a full range of body movements. Ability to stand walk, stoop, kneel, crouch and/or crawl.
• Ability to withstand prolonged periods of standing and walking. Periodic exposure to possible injury when lifting requires proper body mechanics and adherence to safety procedures.