The Future of Allied Health: What You Need to Know

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Career Pathways in Surgical Technology: What Aspiring Techs Need to Know

Introduction

Surgical technology plays a vital role in the operating room (OR) and helps in conducting surgical procedures safely and efficiently. Surgical technologists prepare the operating room (OR), sterilize instruments, assist surgeons during operations, and maintain a sterile environment throughout the procedure. While the goal is to advance patient outcomes and surgical accuracy, they’re essential in supporting surgeons, anesthesiologists, and nurses across a variety of surgical procedures.¹

Surgical techs are in great demand since there are more and more surgical processes in the world of today and the surgery technology is developing very fast. Robotic-assisted surgical techniques and minimally invasive surgical techniques expedite the time to perform surgical procedures, increasing the demand for individuals capable of operating and managing those technologies.² In addition, a growing population has led to an increase in surgical procedures and demand for surgical technologists, as well as continuous demand.³

If you’re thinking of entering this field, it’s essential to understand the work, educational and training requirements and salary potential. In an effort to gauge earnings growth and job prospects, many aspiring surgical techs search terms such as “surgical tech salary” and “surgical tech jobs near me.” Surgical tech is a great career option because it is an ever-changing industry full of career opportunities and specialties.

What Does a Surgical Technologist Do?

High-performing surgical teams are two to four times more efficient in the operating room (OR) and surgical technologists are key players in maintaining that efficiency, making them vital members of every surgical team. Preparing the OR, sterilizing instruments, and setting up surgical equipment prior to a procedure are their main duties. Having all of your tools and supplies on hand is crucial to cutting down on waiting time, as well as preventing complications.¹

Surgical technologists support the surgery process by passing instruments, organizing surgical instruments, and maintaining a sterile field during the surgery. They need to anticipate the surgeon’s needs to ensure that the procedure goes smoothly. They are also responsible for tracking and maintaining surgical instruments to ensure that no mistakes are made, which can put patient safety at risk.¹

Surgical technologists have a leadership role in ensuring that the surgical field is kept sterile. They need to ensure strict adherence to infection control measures and sterile techniques vigilantly to prevent any contamination and infect the patients. Since the OR is high-pressure, surgical technologists are expected to pay attention to detail and think quickly, but they also need technical knowledge to provide top-tier assistance to surgeons, anesthesiologists, and nurses, especially in life-and-death situations.⁴

Technology is evolving rapidly, forcing technologists to develop their abilities to adapt to new instruments, robotic systems, and AI-assisted technology. Because of their knowledge, patient safety and surgical outcomes improve, showcasing their importance in healthcare today.

Educational Requirements & Certification

Because surgical technicians commonly become part of an operating room team, they undergo formal postsecondary education in surgical technology. These programs include two major types of educational programs: certificate and associate degree surgical technology programs. Typically, these programs offer courses in surgical procedures, anatomy, medical terminology, patient care, and hands-on clinical training within real surgical settings.⁵

Accredited programs identify certification, and as part of their training, surgical technologists must complete accredited programs approved through CAAHEP. This is part of the reason the curriculum must meet the industry standards as part of the accreditation process and prepare students for the certification exam.⁶

Most surgical technologists obtain the Certified Surgical Technologist (CST) credential, which is administered by the National Board of Surgical Technology and Surgical Assisting (NBSTSA), to maximize their employment and advancement opportunities. The CST examination certifies technician competency and adherence to professional standards.⁷

Lifelong learning is indispensable for gaining the skills needed to climb the career ladder. Others choose to obtain advanced certs, such as Surgical First Assistant (CSFA), which empower them to assist further in the operating room. As surgical electronics, robotics, and artificial intelligence become part of the surgical tech, continuing education keeps technologists multi-language in new models of surgical equipment and surgical procedures.²

Furthering accredited education through certification and continuing education is critical for long-range success in this burgeoning medical sector.

Career Progression for Surgical Techs

Suppose you choose a career as a surgical tech. In that case, you have many opportunities to grow in the field, either moving up in specialized positions or branching out to other healthcare professions. Most surgical technologists start in entry-level roles in hospitals, outpatient surgical facilities, and private practices. Operational partnering supports different medical techniques maintains a sterile atmosphere and ensures that the functioning theatres are set correctly.⁷

Advancing into Specialized Roles

If surgical technologists gain experience and become certified, they can also advance into surgical first assistants and surgical assistants.

Surgical First Assistant (SFA): A more hands-on role assisting with suturing, applying dressing, and tissue handling. This role often requires special training and licensure.
Lead Surgical Tech: The lead surgical tech ensures that the surgical teams in the operating room are adequately staffed and that all procedures run smoothly and in an efficient manner. This is a lead role, including training new surgical technologists.
CSFA (Certified Surgical First Assistant): A more in-depth surgical technologist position requiring specific certification, enabling technologists to assume greater responsibility in complex operations, such as cardiac and neurosurgical surgeries.⁶

Transitioning into Other Healthcare Careers

Surgical technology can also act as a springboard into other healthcare professions. Many surgical technologists pursue additional education and enter the following career paths:

Registered Nurse (RN) ‐ Surgical technologists who love working with patients may pursue a nursing degree in order to work with surgical patients as perioperative nurses in a variety of settings.
Physician Assistant (PA): For direct patient care and surgical assistance, many people choose a PA degree, which allows them to work more closely with a surgeon in diagnosis, treatment, and procedure.
Healthcare Administration: Some surgical technologists transition into managerial positions that oversee OR operations, training programs, or facility supply chain management.⁸

Surgical technologists have opportunities to specialize and move into roles with a greater scope of responsibility, often with increased salaries, ultimately elevating the impact they have on patient care and surgical outcomes.

Surgical Tech Salary & Job Market Insights

Surgical Technology is a high-demand field with competitive salaries depending on experience, location, and specialty. There’s a reason I see so many queries for “surgical tech salary” in search of insight into their earning potential in this growing field.

How Much Do Surgical Techs Make?

The national median salary can vary for surgical technologists depending on their certifications, amount of experience, and where they worked. Certified Surgical First Assistant (CSFA) and similar credentials command higher salaries than techs in entry-level posts. Salaries may also vary by location, as some states and metropolitan areas offer higher pay rates due to demand.⁹

Highest-Paying States & Specialties

Your place of residence can really add a bunch to your earnings potential. Normally, the states that pay surgical technologists the most are those containing big healthcare networks and a high demand for surgeries. Moreover, working in subspecialty fields like cardiac surgery, orthopedic surgery, and neurosurgery tends to result in better salaries than general surgical positions.¹⁰

Growing Demand for Surgical Techs

Surgical technologists are in high demand as the population continues to age and the number of surgical procedures increases. And more hospitals and outpatient surgical centers are hiring surgical technologists to meet this demand, offering good salaries and job security.³

Those looking for a new position in this field can type “surgical tech jobs near me” into a job search engine to find high-paying positions across various healthcare environments. Surgical technologists can look forward to good job growth and financial stability in the coming years, regardless of whether they work in hospitals, surgical centers, or specialty clinics.

Surgical Tech Jobs Near Me — Finding One

Whether you’re just starting out or are an experienced surgical technologist, “surgical tech jobs near me” is often the first step towards a rewarding career. As the demand for surgical technologists in hospitals, outpatient surgical centers, and specialty clinics continues to grow, healthcare professionals seek staffing agencies like StaffDNA and LiquidAgents Healthcare that can provide top job opportunities.

Why a Healthcare Staffing Agency is Good for You

There are many benefits of working alongside staffing agencies; they simplify the job search process and provide easy access to a diverse array of high-paying contracts and accommodations once balanced schedules. Whether surgical techs need short-term assignments, full-time positions, or travel surgical tech jobs, these agencies offer exclusive listings and job-matching services that link them directly to top employers.¹¹

Surgical Tech Travel Jobs are contracts to work in various sceneries, gain multidisciplinary exposure, and get paid well. Most of the staffing agencies specializing in surgical techs offer help with licensing, relocation stipends, and housing benefits, allowing surgical techs to explore new career opportunities without jeopardizing their job security.¹⁰

The Path to High-Paying Surgical Tech Jobs

High-demand surgical technologist jobs are available on job-matching platforms like StaffDNA and LiquidAgents Healthcare within seconds. A profile can be created along with credentials uploaded, granting job seekers access to real-time openings, competitive salaries, and flexible contracts so they can find the best opportunities in their space.

Future Outlook & Career Opportunities

The surgical technology industry has a bright future as the need for skilled surgical technologists grows. As the number of surgical procedures expands and robotic-assisted surgical technologies continuously advance, the minimally invasive nature of these techniques would help reduce recovery time and lead to high growth. Robotics and artificial intelligence (AI) integration in surgery has restructured operating room dynamics, increasing the need for trained surgical technologists who can help with high-tech procedures and complex surgical systems.²

As surgical technologists are increasingly relied on by hospitals and outpatient surgery centers to keep the OR safe and efficient, job stability in this profession remains strong. With the aging population requiring more surgical care and technological advances, there will be a growing need for surgical techs.³

Career longevity and job security are major benefits for those entering the field. Those who earn specialty certifications and seek advancement into surgical technologist roles will see the highest income and career growth potential. Whether working in robotic surgery, trauma centers, or travel assignments, the future is bright for surgical technologists, with continued growth, stability, and high-paying job opportunities.

Conclusion

For healthcare professionals seeking to work in an operating room (OR) setting, a career in surgical technology presents a rewarding and reliable journey. This allows surgical technologists to move to more advanced surgical roles, such as Surgical First Assistant (SFA) or Certified Surgical First Assistant (CSFA), where they assist surgeons directly during procedures. The pathways into this growing field are structured by educational requirements, including programs as short as a certificate or associate degree length, as well as by NBSTSA certification.⁷

As a result, surgical technologists can take advantage of long-term job security and opportunities for career growth because of competitive salaries and job market demand. Specialization in robotic surgery, neurosurgery, and orthopedic surgery, in addition to staying certified, increases one’s earning potential and career growth.⁹

Working as a travel surgical tech may be perfect for you if you want to see the country while still maximizing your salary (and sometimes your earnings potential). Healthcare Staffing Agencies are key to accessing the highest-paying jobs in the field. Your ideal job might be on the other side of the country (or even the world), but agencies such as StaffDNA and LiquidAgents Healthcare ensure that you get paid for what your time is worth.

Ready to Take the Next Step?

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References

1. Weerakkody, R. A., Cheshire, N. J., Riga, C., Lear, R., Hamady, M. S., Moorthy, K., Darzi, A. W., Vincent, C., & Bicknell, C. D. (2013). Surgical technology and operating-room safety failures: A systematic review of quantitative studies. BMJ Quality & Safety, 22(9), 710–718. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjqs-2012-001778

2. Peters, B. S., Armijo, P. R., Krause, C., Choudhury, S. A., & Oleynikov, D. (2018). Review of emerging surgical robotic technology. Surgical Endoscopy, 32(4), 1636–1655. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00464-018-6079-2

3. Etzioni, D. A., Liu, J. H., Maggard, M. A., & Ko, C. Y. (2003). The aging population and its impact on the surgery workforce. Annals of Surgery, 238(2), 170–177. https://doi.org/10.1097/01.SLA.0000081085.98792.3d

4. Leverenz, T., & Chaparro, B. S. (2020). Safe and Effective Use of Tools and Technology in the Operating Room. In T. N. Cohen, E. J. Ley, & B. L. Gewertz (Eds.), Human Factors in Surgery: Enhancing Safety and Flow in Patient Care (pp. 29–38). Springer International Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-53127-0_4

5. Rutherford, D. N., D’Angelo, A.-L. D., Law, K. E., & Pugh, C. M. (2015). Advanced Engineering Technology for Measuring Performance. The Surgical Clinics of North America, 95(4), 813–826. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.suc.2015.04.005

6. Beqari, J., & Seymour, N. E. (2021). Application of technology to educational needs in surgery. Journal of Surgical Oncology, 124(2), 181–192. https://doi.org/10.1002/jso.26512

7. Nelson, B., Na Eun, K., Sullivan, B., O’Neal, P., Sanchez, V., Whang, E., & Kristo, G. (2019). Playing the Surgical Technologist Role by Surgery Residents Improves Their Technical and Nontechnical Skills. The Journal of Surgical Research, 238, 57–63. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jss.2019.01.026

8. Madden, S., Clements, J. M., Martin, N., & Kirk, S. J. (2022). 272 Factors Influencing Medical Student Future Career Choice – Why Not Surgery? British Journal of Surgery, 109(Supplement_1), znac039.177. https://doi.org/10.1093/bjs/znac039.177

9. Gray, K., Neville, A., Kaji, A. H., Wolfe, M., Calhoun, K., Amersi, F., Donahue, T., Arnell, T., Jarman, B., Inaba, K., Melcher, M., Morris, J. B., Smith, B., Reeves, M., Gauvin, J., Salcedo, E. S., Sidwell, R., Murayama, K., Damewood, R., … de Virgilio, C. (2019). Career Goals, Salary Expectations, and Salary Negotiation Among Male and Female General Surgery Residents. JAMA Surgery, 154(11), 1023–1029. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamasurg.2019.2879

10. Perera, S. K., Jacob, S., Wilson, B. E., Ferlay, J., Bray, F., Sullivan, R., & Barton, M. (2021). Global demand for cancer surgery and an estimate of the optimal surgical and anaesthesia workforce between 2018 and 2040: A population-based modelling study. The Lancet. Oncology, 22(2), 182–189. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1470-2045(20)30675-6

11. Ericksen, A. (2002). STs: An Increasing Demand. Healthcare Traveler. https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/STs%3A-An-Increasing-Demand-Ericksen/e6e571fa5553c8939931c6a2318127681360399a?utm_source=consensus

Healthcare organizations face some of the toughest workforce challenges: tight budgets, lean IT teams and limited tools for sourcing, hiring and onboarding staff. Add in manual scheduling, rising labor costs and high burnout, and the pressure grows. Rolling out complex systems can feel out of reach without dedicated tech support. Even simply evaluating new technology can overwhelm already stretched-thin teams.

These challenges make it clear that technology isn’t just helpful; it’s essential for healthcare organizations. Especially when they’re striving to do more with less. Not only are healthcare organizations falling short on implementing new technology, but they’re struggling to update outdated systems. A 2023 CHIME survey found that nearly 60% of hospitals use core IT systems, such as EHRs and workforce platforms, that are over a decade old. Outdated tools can’t integrate or scale, creating barriers to smarter staffing strategies. But the opportunity to modernize is real and urgent.

Tech in Patient Care Falls Short

In healthcare, technology has historically focused on clinical and patient care. Workforce management tools have taken a back seat to updating patient care systems. Yet many big tech companies have failed when it comes to customizing healthcare infrastructure and connecting patients with providers. Google Health shuttered after only three years, and Amazon’s Haven Health was intended to disrupt healthcare and health insurance but disbanded three years later.

Why the failures? It’s estimated that nearly 80% of patient data technology systems must use to create alignment is unstructured and trapped in data silos. Integration issues naturally form when there’s a lack of cohesive data that systems can share and use. Privacy considerations surrounding patient data are a challenge, as well. Across the healthcare continuum, federal and state healthcare data laws hinder how seamlessly technology can integrate with existing systems.

Why Smarter Staffing Is Now Essential

These data and integration challenges also hinder a healthcare organization’s ability to hire and deploy staff, an urgent healthcare priority. The U.S. will face a shortfall of over 3.2 million healthcare workers by 2026. At the same time, aging populations and rising chronic conditions are straining teams already stretched thin.

Smart workforce technology is becoming not just helpful, but essential. It allows organizations to move from reactive staffing to proactive workforce planning that can adapt to real-world care demands.

Global Inspiration: Japan’s AI-Driven Workforce Model

Healthcare staffing shortages aren’t just a U.S. problem. So, how are other countries addressing this issue? Countries like Japan are demonstrating what’s possible when technology is utilized not just to supplement staff, but to transform the entire workforce model. With one of the world’s oldest populations and a significant clinician shortage, Japan has adopted a proactive approach through its Healthcare AI and Robotics Center, where several institutions like Waseda University and Tokyo’s Cancer Institute Hospital are focusing on developing AI-powered hospitals.

Japan’s focus on integrating predictive analytics, robotics and data-driven scheduling across elder care and hospital systems is a response to its aging population and workforce shortages. From robotic assistants to AI-supported shift planning, Japan’s futuristic model proves that holistic tech integration, not piecemeal upgrades, creates sustainable staffing frameworks.

Rather than treating workforce tech as an IT patch for broken systems, Japan’s approach embeds these tools throughout care operations, supporting scheduling, monitoring, compliance and even direct caregiving tasks. U.S. health systems can draw critical lessons here: strategic investment in integrated platforms builds resilience, especially in a labor-constrained future.

The Power of Smart Workforce Technology

In the U.S., workforce management is becoming increasingly seen as more than a back-office function; it’s a strategic business operation directly impacting clinical outcomes and patient satisfaction. Smart technology tools are designed to improve care quality, staff satisfaction, scheduling, pay rates, compliance and much more.

For example, by using historical data, patient acuity, seasonal trends and other data points, organizations can predict their staff needs more accurately. The result is fewer gaps in scheduling, fewer overtime payouts and a flexible schedule for staff. AI-powered analytics can help healthcare leadership teams spot patterns in absenteeism, see productivity and forecast needs in multiple clinical areas in real-time. Workforce management tools can help plan scheduling proactively, rather than reactively. It’s a proven technology tool that can help drive efficiency and reduce costs.

Why So Many Are Still Behind

Despite the clear benefits, many healthcare organizations are slow to adopt smart tools that empower their workforce. Several things are holding them back from going all-in on technology:

Financial Pressures

Over half of U.S. hospitals are operating at or below break-even margins. For them, investing in new technology solutions is financially unfeasible. Scalable, subscription-based and even free workforce management tools are available, but most organizations are unaware of or lack the resources to source these products. Workforce management tools can deliver long-term return on investment for most organizations. Taking the time to understand where the value lies and which tools to invest in needs to happen.

Outdated Core Systems

Many facilities still depend on legacy technology infrastructure that lacks real-time capabilities. Many large players in the healthcare workforce management industry dominate hospital systems. Other smaller, real-time tools that offer innovative solutions to scheduling, workforce hiring, rate calculators and more are available at a fraction of the cost.

Competing Priorities and Strategic Blind Spots

Healthcare organizations and hospitals have many high-priority business objectives and regulatory demands. Digital transformation naturally falls down on the priority list, which causes them to miss improvements that can lead to long-term stability. With patient care and provider satisfaction at the top of the priority mountain, technology changes can be easily missed or shoved to the side when other business objectives are perceived to “move the needle” more.

Poor Change Management

Even the best technology efforts can fail without the right strategy for adoption and support from senior leadership. Resistance from staff, lack of training, or poor rollout communication can undermine success. Effective change management—clear leadership, role-based training and feedback loops—is essential.

Faster than the speed of technology

Change needs to come quickly to healthcare organizations in terms of managing their workforce efficiently. Smart technologies like predictive analytics, AI-assisted scheduling and mobile platforms will define this next era. These tools don’t just optimize operations but empower workers and elevate care quality.

Slow technology adoption continues to hold back the full potential of the healthcare ecosystem. Japan again offers a clear example: they had one of the slowest adoption rates of remote workers (19% of companies offered remote work) in 2019. Within just three weeks of the crisis, their remote work population doubled (49%), proving that technological transformation can happen fast when urgency strikes. The lesson is clear: healthcare organizations need to modernize faster for the sake of their workforce and the patients who rely on providers to deliver care.