Surgical First Assistant
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Program Description
Upon successful completion of the Surgical First Assistant program, students will be awarded a specialized certificate (SC) and have the option of completing an Associate of Arts (AA) degree in Surgical First Assistant.
The American College of Surgeons (ACS) defines the role and responsibilities of the surgical first assistant as follows: “The first assistant in a surgical operation should be a trained individual who can participate in and actively assist the surgeon in completing the operation safely and expeditiously by helping to provide exposure, maintain hemostasis, and other technical functions. Surgical assistants should meet national standards and be credentialed by the appropriate local authority. These individuals are not authorized to operate independently and must be under the direct supervision of the surgeon.
In addition, perioperative duties that may be performed by the surgical assistant who has received the appropriate training as outlined by the Core Curriculum for Surgical Assisting, 4th ed, may include duties such as assisting with intraoperative positioning, injection of local anesthesia (i.e. ASA Local Anesthesia Guidelines), insertion of trocars (i.e. ASA Trocar Guidelines), preparation of grafts, use of appropriate suturing or stapling devices, securing drains, application of casts, facilitating patient rounds, changing dressings, and other duties as approved and assigned by the supervising surgeon and local facility.
Admission into the Surgical First Assistant program requires submission of a separate application and is competitive. Visit the Surgical First Assistant Application Steps page to view application dates, qualifications, and steps to apply.
Note: Registrations for Surgical First Assistant courses are restricted to students within the major.