AQUINO, CHRISTIAN JUFERS G.

BSN3-NCA
Who are the Surgical Team Members and give their functions

The surgical team is a group of people in the operating room during a surgical procedure. This group
includes the surgeon and one or more assistant (depending on the complexity of the case), the
anesthetist, the registered nurse performing the scrub duty, and the registered nurse performing the
circulating nurse. All team members work together to provide the best possible care to the patient.

 Surgeon
- Surgeon is qualified by knowledge and experience for the performance of a surgical
operation. Surgeons operate in the event of illness, injury, or disease, and can perform
any number of different surgical procedures on the body. Sometimes surgeries are
performed to correct problems in the body or to explore the cause of illness. The function
of a surgeon are to preoperative diagnosed and care of the patient, performance of the
surgical procedure and postoperative management of care.

 Surgeon assistant
During a surgical procedure, the operating surgeon can have one or two assistants to
perform specific tasks under his/her (operating surgeon) direction. The responsibilities of
a surgeon’s assistant are to help maintain the visibility of the surgical site, control
bleeding, close wounds, apply dressings, handles tissues, uses instruments.

 Scrub nurse
- The function of a scrub nurse is to maintain the integrity, safety and efficiency of the sterile field
throughout the surgical procedure. The nurse who is the immediate assistant to the
surgeon is often called the “scrub” or “sterile” nurse. She first scrubs her hands and arms
the required length of time, puts on sterile gown & gloves, and handles only sterile
material.

 Circulating nurse
- Circulating nurses’ functions include knowing all the pertinent information about the
patient and verifying that it’s the correct patient on the table going in for the scheduled
procedure, positioning the patient appropriately and properly prepping their skin for the
incision, managing the room, including supplies, equipment, lighting and documentation.
The circulating nurse ensures there’s not a break in sterile technique. If patient status
changes, they may have to switch what to do (stepping in to help anesthesia, for
example). Initiating counts when it’s time to close and accounting for all sponges, blades
and other instruments.

 Anesthetist
- Anesthesiologists are the doctors trained to administer and manage anesthesia given
during a surgical procedure. They also control medications and intravenous fluid
responsible for managing and treating changes in your critical life functions such as
breathing, heart rate, and blood pressure as they are affected by the surgery being
performed.
 Surgical technologists
- Surgical technologists work under the supervision and delegatory authority of a surgeon
to facilitate the safe and effective conduct of invasive and non-invasive surgical
procedures, ensuring that the operating room environment is safe, that equipment
functions properly.