Operating Room Aide

Job Profile Summary 

​This role focuses on providing medical and clinical support services to patients.  In addition, this role focuses on performing the following Surgical Services duties: Responsible for medical services involving the excision or incision of a patient's body, such as interventional pain management and other procedures. This position also works to provide a safe environment for patients undergoing invasive procedures or surgery.  A clinical technologist role that has specialized knowledge or skills gained through a combination of vocational education, training, and experience. This role will be most commonly applied to patient care and/or scientific/laboratory jobs.  An entry-level role typically requiring little to no prior knowledge or experience and requiring vocational or technical education.  Work is routine or follows standard procedures, is closely supervised, and communicates information that requires little explanation or interpretation. 

Job Overview 

Under general supervision of the Operating Room leaders and personnel, engages in direct and indirect tasks for patients having surgical procedures. With a focus on safety and efficiency, general responsibilities include room turnover and set up, stock inventory, transporting patients to and from the procedural areas, and providing the rooms with required specialty equipment in preparation for all procedures. This is an integral position in a dynamic and fast paced clinical setting with involvement in various surgical procedures that include an advanced cardiac surgery program. 

Job Description 

Minimum Qualifications: 

1. High school diploma or equivalent. 

Preferred Qualifications: 

1. Associate’s degree. 

2. One (1) year experience working in an operating room or surgical area in a hospital. 

Duties and Responsibilities: The duties and responsibilities listed below are intended to describe the general nature of work and are not intended to be an all-inclusive list.  Other duties and responsibilities may be assigned. 

1. Assists Environmental Services with room turnover; wiping down and docking Neptune’s, setting up specialized equipment/O.R. tables for next case.  

2. Transports patients from surgical floors to OR suite or other areas of the hospital, equipment and supplies to and from O.R. and works as a liaison with CPD to ensure delivery of kits and sterile items throughout the surgical case. 

3. Transports blood products and specimen to and from their respective locations (i.e. Blood Bank, Mammography, Pathology, Cytology). 

4. Assists in the transfer of a patient from the OR table to the patient's bed under the clinical care team’s guidance. 

5. Assists team with ensuring the OR table and positioning devices for proper attachments are safely secured and ready to support a patient. 

6. Assists in positioning of patients for surgical procedures and holds extremities for skin prep. 

7. Performs general tidiness of all procedural areas and maintains cleanliness of inner and outer core zones of the surgical suites ensuring no medical gas panels, electrical panels, or fire extinguishers are blocked.  

8. Maintains all medical gas tank exchanges in safe manner, monitoring PSI levels on tank gauges, and responding to alarms. 

9. Responsible for fluid and linen re-stocking and maintenance inside O.R room warmers and fluid carts; labeling with accurate expiration dates and discarding expired fluid. 

10. Returns unopened case carts, kits, and scopes to Central Processing and may assist Environmental Services with the return of used/dirty case carts to the decontamination area. 

11. General maintenance of all biohazard sharps containers; utilizing the soiled utility room to exchange for clean bins when necessary. 

12. Adheres to JCAHO, CMS, DPH, and HIPAA regulations. 

13. Maintains collaborative, team relationships with peers and colleagues in order to effectively contribute to the working groups achievement of goals, and to help foster a positive work environment. 

14. Responsible to rotate through procedural units in which they are oriented. 

15. Assists leadership team with strategic initiatives regarding process improvement efforts, with a focus on safety and efficiency. 

16. Respond to Vocera calls in a timely manner, and logs in to respective “group” at the start of their shift. 

17. Complies with on-call requirements and responsibilities, able to clock in for their on-call shift within 45 minutes of being called. 

18. Demonstrates extensive knowledge and use of specific tables, table accessories, and equipment- and is able to act as a direct resource to the clinical care team providing support with specialized items when needed. 

19. Completes general maintenance of all linen, trash, and recycling receptacles. 

Physical Requirements:  

1. Lift, reach, carry, push, and pull 40-50 pounds or more. Ability to stand/sit combination of eight (8) hours or length of assignment. 

2. Perceiving sounds such as phones ringing, beepers, alarms and buzzers on equipment. 

3. Clarity of both near and far vision. Able to distinguish color, i.e. alarms and buzzers on equipment, and color codes on instrumentation. 

4. Frequent contact with blood and bodily fluids, lasers, electrical equipment, and radiation waves. 

5. Must have demonstrated manual dexterity to perform duties as assigned.   

Skills & Abilities: 

1. Ability to speak and hear effectively and meet telephone and customer service standards.  

2. Ability to be flexible with schedule and adhere to the operating room on-call policy. 

3. Ability to take direction and follow through on assignments without reminder. 

4. Ability to prioritize assignments and tasks at hand.  

5. Ability to work in a fast paced, highly technical environment. 

6. Knowledge of different patient positions to assist in Operating Room. 

7. Knowledge and use of universal precautions, asepsis, and sterile technique. 

8. Read and write at a level necessary to perform all duties, include accurately maintain written records. 

9. Basic familiarity with computers and the ability to navigate at a basic level within web-based applications. 

10. Demonstrates a pro-active customer service orientation.