Covenant Health

Surgical First Assistant, Surgery

$7,500 Sign-on Bonus for Experienced SFAs

$5,000 Sign-on Bonus for New Grad SFAs

Full Time, 80 Hours Per Pay Period, Day Shift

Fort Sanders Regional Overview:

Fort Sanders Regional Medical Center is an award-winning, certified, and accredited facility with 468 beds. As a Joint Commission Comprehensive Stroke Center, Fort Sanders offers state-of-the art care that maximizes recovery from stroke.  We are also the region’s leader in technology in areas such as bariatric surgery, robotic surgery and minimally invasive spine surgery. Our door-to-balloon times for heart attack patients are below the national average, and our hip fracture center offers advanced diagnosis, surgery and recovery procedures for hip patients.

Fort Sanders Regional Medical Center is a member of Covenant Health, a locally-owned, non-profit health system based in Knoxville, TN, with a “patient-focused” culture. It has been recognized by Forbes Magazine as its 2020 “Best-in-State-Employer” for Tennessee. The CEO of our company, Jim VanderSteeg, attends every new employee orientation and will ask you to sign our pledge of excellence to always put patients first, strive for excellence in everything we do, and make Covenant Health the first and best choice for patients in our region. As you’d expect, we offer our employees a robust benefits package, including: offering unmatched medical insurance, tuition reimbursement; student loan repayment assistance, certification bonuses; leadership and professional development programs; an employer-matched 401(k); and a generous Combined Time Off (CTO) program.

Department Description:

Fort Sanders Regional’s extensive surgical capabilities are transforming the surgery experience for patients in East Tennessee. From the area’s first robotically assisted surgery system, image-guided brain and spinal cord procedures to our hybrid operating room, Fort Sanders Regional provides patients more options and the best surgical technology available. We also offer traditional surgical options including advanced laparoscopy and day surgery procedures.

The Surgery department at Fort Sanders Regional consists of 17 operating rooms where over 10,000 procedures are performed each year. Our surgical specialties include bariatrics, cardiothoracic, colon/rectal, orthopedics, plastics, vascular, sinus, neuro, and surgical oncology.

Our staff consists of RNs, Certified Surgical Technologists, and Peri-Op / Anesthesia Techs who always work together to provide exceptional patient outcomes. Nurses in surgery work very closely with physicians to ensure our patients are safe. We have a supportive environment and an orientation tailored to your needs.

If you are passionate about putting patients first, are a great team player, and have exceptional organization skills, apply for a surgery position today!

Position Summary: 

With directed delegation, assists the surgeon throughout the entire surgical procedure. The surgeon may allow the surgical first assistant to tie or cauterize vessels, muscle, or fat under their immediate direction or observation; the surgical first assistant may close the skin with suture or staples and place dressings. It is the surgeon’s responsibility to verify the acceptability and appropriateness of the closure.

Recruiter: Jennifer Gordon || jgordon2@covhlth.com || 865-374-8107

• Under supervision of MD/surgeon, facilitates patient care by providing surgical first assistant duties for the surgeon before, during and after surgical procedures; follows unit standards and processes to deliver age-appropriate care for all patients; demonstrates accountability as an individual and team member in meeting patient/family needs; participates in identifying cost-effective measures for clinical care.
• Demonstrates expanded knowledge of surgical anatomy/ physiology and operative technique to work collaboratively with the surgeon and the other team members.
• May apply dressings as appropriate in an aseptic manner as delegated by the surgeon.
• Assists the operating room team in safely transferring the patient to and from the Operating Room; demonstrates proper positioning techniques; reports to the circulator and surgeon bilateral pedal pulses and posterior tibial pulses when appropriate; knows the proper position for cases and understands the use of proper positioning aids to protect nerves, bony prominences and to maintain circulation.
• Recognizes safety hazards and initiates appropriate preventative and/or corrective actions to ensure a safe environment for the patient and the surgical team throughout the perioperative experience
• Plans, sets up, performs, and cleans up the assigned surgical procedure as a surgical first assistant and/or as a scrub tech; demonstrates knowledge of equipment and instrumentation pertaining to case; safely operates special equipment which may be used in surgical cases (e.g. lasers, microscopes, tourniquets, endoscopes, drills, saws, etc.); maintains instrument and equipment integrity; performs room turn-over and terminal cleaning; utilizes supplies appropriately and in a cost effective manner. When called upon can assist in daily assignments; makes sure all needed supplies/implants are available for assigned case(s); brings to the coordinator the changes that need to be made to the preference maps.
• Demonstrates knowledge of and the ability to apply the principles of asepsis in creating and maintaining the sterile field; uses proper technique when scrubbing, gowning, gloving and setting up of sterile fields; recognizes what is sterile and what is unsterile; recognizes contamination and takes proper action to correct situation; continually monitors the sterile field and surgical team to assure that sterility is maintained.
• Performs sharp, sponge, and instrument counts according to policy; demonstrates proper counting technique for all countables, and applies proper procedures with incorrect counts; demonstrates understanding of exceptions to counts when in the functioning role of a surgical assistant.
• May be cross-trained to provide surgical services in multiple specialty areas.
• Makes an effort to do pre/post op rounding when appropriate.
• 11 Follows policies, procedures, and safety standards. Completes required education assignments annually. Works toward achieving goals and objectives, and participates in quality improvement initiatives as requested.
• Performs other duties as assigned.

Minimum Education: 

None specified; however, must be sufficient to meet the standards for achievement of the below indicated license and/or certification as required by the issuing authority.

Minimum Experience: 

Must have previously worked as a Surgical Technologist (CST or Non-Certified CST). Experience performing certified surgical technologist duties in an operating suite sufficient to meet the experience requirements mandated by one of the certifying bodies indicated below.

Licensure Requirements: 

Must have and maintain one of the following certifications:

• Certified First Assistant (CSFA) by the National Board of Surgical Technology and Surgical Assisting (NBSTSA);
• Certified Surgical Assistant (CSA) by the National Surgical Assistants Association (NSAA).