Top 12 Surgical Technologist Skills to Put on Your Resume
In the competitive field of surgical technology, standing out to potential employers is key to securing your desired position. Highlighting a well-rounded set of skills on your resume shows depth, competence, and calm under pressure—exactly what hiring managers look for in this high-stakes role.
Surgical Technologist Skills
- Sterilization Techniques
- Da Vinci Robotics
- Suturing Assistance
- Hemostasis Methods
- Laparoscopic Equipment
- Surgical Instrumentation
- Wound Care
- Electrosurgery Tools
- Patient Positioning
- Aseptic Practices
- Inventory Management
- C-arm Fluoroscopy
1. Sterilization Techniques
Sterilization techniques are methods used to eliminate all forms of microbial life—bacteria, viruses, fungi, spores—from instruments and environments. A sterile field isn’t optional; it’s the shield that protects patients. Common methods include autoclaving (steam under pressure), dry heat, ethylene oxide, hydrogen peroxide gas plasma, and chemical sterilants. Surgical technologists must know the methods, the indicators, and the pitfalls.
Why It's Important
Sterilization techniques prevent infections by removing microorganisms from instruments and the operative field, safeguarding patients and supporting successful outcomes.
How to Improve Sterilization Techniques Skills
To sharpen sterilization skills, focus on the essentials:
Stay Updated: Follow guidance from professional bodies such as AORN, the CDC, and the Healthcare Sterile Processing Association (HSPA). Standards change; your practice should keep pace.
Follow Manufacturer Instructions: Use and maintain sterilizers, washers, and low-temperature systems exactly as specified. No guesswork, no shortcuts.
Match Method to Material: Choose steam, low-temp, or chemical sterilants based on device design, heat tolerance, and compatibility.
Maintain and Validate: Schedule routine maintenance, run biological and chemical indicators, document results, and act on failures immediately.
Train and Re-verify: Practice, assess, and re-assess competencies. Cross-train with sterile processing for a tighter loop.
Quality Assurance: Audit loads, track cycles, and keep meticulous records. Data reveals gaps; fix them fast.
Consistent technique, relentless verification, and current standards—that’s how sterility holds.
How to Display Sterilization Techniques Skills on Your Resume
2. da Vinci Robotics
da Vinci robotics refers to robotic-assisted surgical systems that enhance precision, dexterity, and visualization during minimally invasive procedures. Surgical technologists support docking, instrument exchanges, troubleshooting, and efficient room turnover for these cases.
Why It's Important
Robotic-assisted surgery often means smaller incisions, less pain, and quicker recovery, with fine control for the surgeon. Skilled technologists make the system hum.
How to Improve da Vinci Robotics Skills
Boost performance by tightening the fundamentals:
Structured Training: Complete vendor-approved education, practice on simulators, and run dry-lab setups until instrument exchanges are second nature.
Workflow Mastery: Standardize room layout, draping, docking sequences, and turnover checklists. Faster setup, fewer delays.
Troubleshooting: Learn common error codes, cable/port issues, and emergency undocking steps. Calm hands, quick fixes.
Team Communication: Build tight communication loops with surgeon and anesthesia. Anticipation beats reaction.
How to Display da Vinci Robotics Skills on Your Resume
3. Suturing Assistance
Suturing assistance includes preparing sutures, handling and cutting, loading needles, and assisting with closure—all under the surgeon’s direction. Smooth, precise, timely.
Why It's Important
Accurate assistance speeds closure, minimizes contamination risk, and supports clean healing—small actions, big outcomes.
How to Improve Suturing Assistance Skills
Study Techniques: Know knot types, stitch patterns, and suture materials. Understand when and why each is chosen.
Practice Repetition: Use practice kits or simulation labs to refine needle handling, tension control, and trimming.
Organize the Field: Prepare suture banks, needle counts, and backups. Everything in reach, nothing in the way.
Communicate Preferences: Learn each surgeon’s habits—needle angles, suture sizes, tie lengths—and anticipate the next move.
Seek Feedback: Ask for notes post-case and adjust quickly.
How to Display Suturing Assistance Skills on Your Resume
4. Hemostasis Methods
Hemostasis methods control bleeding and maintain a clear field. Techniques span mechanical (sutures, clips, staples), thermal (electrocautery, ultrasonic energy, laser), and topical agents (gelatin sponges, oxidized cellulose, fibrin sealants).
Why It's Important
Reliable hemostasis reduces blood loss, exposes anatomy, and prevents complications. It’s the difference between smooth sailing and a scramble.
How to Improve Hemostasis Methods Skills
Know the Tools: Understand energy platforms, settings, and limitations. Pair the right method with the right tissue.
Master Fundamentals: Place clips cleanly, pass ties swiftly, and support precise suture placement.
Use Agents Wisely: Select topical hemostats based on bleeding type and field conditions; apply correctly to avoid interference with healing.
Plan Ahead: Discuss expected bleeding risks at the briefing. Prep backup tools and agents before incision.
Communicate in Real Time: Call out oozing early, pass the right tool fast, and verify effect before moving on.
How to Display Hemostasis Methods Skills on Your Resume
5. Laparoscopic Equipment
Laparoscopic equipment includes the camera system, light source, insufflator, trocars, and hand instruments for minimally invasive access and work through small ports. Clean video, steady insufflation, and dependable instruments drive safe progress.
Why It's Important
Minimally invasive surgery shortens recovery, lowers pain, and often improves visualization. A skilled technologist keeps the tower purring and the field visible.
How to Improve Laparoscopic Equipment Skills
Optimize the Tower: Verify white balance, focus, light intensity, and camera settings before the first cut. Test recording if required.
Dial In Insufflation: Confirm pressure limits, flow rates, and tubing integrity. Monitor for leaks and respond fast.
Standardize Setup: Use consistent port placement kits, cable management, and instrument layout. Less clutter, fewer tangles.
Know Your Instruments: Check insulation, jaws, and ratchets. Swap failing tools immediately.
Troubleshoot on the Fly: Fogging, smoke, glare—handle with defoggers, smoke evacuation, and repositioning.
Advance with Tech: Be comfortable with 3D scopes, 4K systems, fluorescence imaging, and articulating instruments.
How to Display Laparoscopic Equipment Skills on Your Resume
6. Surgical Instrumentation
Surgical instrumentation covers the full toolkit—scalpels, forceps, scissors, clamps, retractors, and beyond. Right tool, right time, right condition.
Why It's Important
Accurate instrument selection and readiness enable precision and speed. Downtime drops; safety rises.
How to Improve Surgical Instrumentation Skills
Keep Learning: Stay current on new instrument designs, specialty sets, and evolving techniques.
Maintain Meticulously: Inspect edges and hinges, protect from damage, and follow validated cleaning and sterilization protocols.
Track Smart: Use an instrument tracking system to monitor usage, set integrity, maintenance, and replacements.
Close the Loop: Gather feedback from surgeons and nurses to refine set composition and retire underperformers.
Think Ergonomics: Favor instruments that reduce strain and improve control during long cases.
How to Display Surgical Instrumentation Skills on Your Resume
7. Wound Care
Wound care involves preparing incision sites, assisting with closure, applying dressings, and monitoring for signs of infection or complications. Clean technique and consistent follow-through matter.
Why It's Important
Good wound care supports proper healing, reduces infection risk, and helps patients recover faster with fewer setbacks.
How to Improve Wound Care Skills
Protect Sterility: Maintain strict asepsis when handling dressings and drains. No breaks, no contamination.
Know Your Materials: Understand when to choose absorptive, occlusive, antimicrobial, or negative pressure options.
Standardize Protocols: Follow evidence-based dressing changes and documentation. Consistency prevents errors.
Educate Clearly: Reinforce post-op wound care instructions and red flags for patients and families.
Assess and Document: Describe wound appearance, drainage, and changes precisely. Early detection saves trouble.
How to Display Wound Care Skills on Your Resume
8. Electrosurgery Tools
Electrosurgery tools use high-frequency current to cut or coagulate tissue. Proper settings, correct tips, safe dispersive pad placement—every detail counts.
Why It's Important
Electrosurgery enables precise cutting and reliable hemostasis, often reducing blood loss and shortening operative time.
How to Improve Electrosurgery Tools Skills
Prioritize Safety: Verify grounding/dispersive pad placement, insulation integrity, and cable condition before activation.
Dial in Precision: Match mode and power to tissue type. Use the lowest effective setting to limit thermal spread.
Expand Capability: Learn monopolar, bipolar, and advanced energy platforms. Know when each shines.
Ergonomics Matter: Choose handpieces and cords that reduce strain and allow fine control.
Train Regularly: Refresh on safety standards and new features. Practice emergency shutdown steps.
How to Display Electrosurgery Tools Skills on Your Resume
9. Patient Positioning
Patient positioning is the precise arrangement of the patient on the table to expose the surgical site, protect nerves and pressure points, and maintain physiologic stability.
Why It's Important
Proper positioning prevents injuries, enables access, and supports ventilation and circulation. Do it right at the start; protect the patient throughout.
How to Improve Patient Positioning Skills
Match Position to Procedure: Supine, prone, lateral, lithotomy—choose deliberately and confirm with the team.
Account for Patient Factors: Adjust for body habitus, mobility limits, and comorbidities. One size never fits all.
Use the Right Supports: Gel pads, foam, arm boards, straps—pad bony prominences and secure lines.
Communicate Constantly: Confirm with anesthesia and the surgeon before and after final positioning.
Monitor Continuously: Recheck alignment, padding, and access points during long cases.
Follow Professional Guidelines: Align practice with standards from organizations such as AORN and ASPAN.
How to Display Patient Positioning Skills on Your Resume
10. Aseptic Practices
Aseptic practices include surgical hand antisepsis, proper gowning and gloving, sterile field setup, and disciplined handling of sterile items. Vigilance is the job.
Why It's Important
Strong aseptic technique prevents contamination and lowers the risk of surgical site infections. It protects every patient, every time.
How to Improve Aseptic Practices Skills
Perfect Hand Hygiene: Follow timing and technique precisely—before, during, after patient contact.
Gown and Glove Correctly: Don and doff without breaking sterility. Practice until it’s automatic.
Guard the Field: Build the sterile field methodically and defend it against breaks in technique.
Handle Instruments Right: Maintain sterility through transport, setup, and use. Close gaps immediately.
Refresh Often: Take ongoing education and competency checks seriously. Routines drift—reset them.
How to Display Aseptic Practices Skills on Your Resume
11. Inventory Management
Inventory management ensures instruments and supplies are available, sterile, and ready when needed. The right item, in the right place, at the right time.
Why It's Important
Good inventory control reduces waste, prevents case delays, and supports safe care without frantic last-minute searches.
How to Improve Inventory Management Skills
Use Digital Tracking: Adopt software to monitor stock levels, expirations, and reorders. Visibility prevents shortages.
Audit Regularly: Reconcile counts and investigate variances. Small gaps become big problems if ignored.
Organize Clearly: Label shelves and bins, standardize locations, and simplify retrieval.
Follow FIFO: First-in, first-out to minimize expired stock and wasted spend.
Build Supplier Partnerships: Keep reliable vendors, negotiate favorable terms, and plan for contingency restocks.
Train the Team: Ensure everyone who touches inventory knows the system and the standards.
Forecast Demand: Use historical data and surgical schedules to set par levels and plan ahead.
How to Display Inventory Management Skills on Your Resume
12. C-arm Fluoroscopy
C-arm fluoroscopy provides real-time X-ray imaging during procedures. The C-shaped arm rotates around the patient to guide hardware placement, confirm positioning, and reduce guesswork.
Why It's Important
Live imaging supports accuracy and safety, helping the team act with confidence when millimeters matter.
How to Improve C-arm Fluoroscopy Skills
Elevate Image Quality: Calibrate routinely, adjust contrast and brightness appropriately, and position the C-arm for the clearest view with the least exposure.
Minimize Radiation: Use pulsed modes, collimate tightly, stand back when possible, and shield everyone effectively.
Operate Efficiently: Learn quick positioning, lock/unlock mechanics, and communication cues so repeats are rare.
Know Safety Protocols: Understand dose limits, cumulative exposure, and documentation requirements.
How to Display C-arm Fluoroscopy Skills on Your Resume
