A surgical team is a group of medical professionals who work together to provide the best possible care for patients undergoing surgery. The team typically consists of a surgeon, an assistant surgeon, an anesthetist, a nurse anesthetist, a circulating nurse, and a surgical technologist. The operating room is the hub of activity for the surgical team, where they prepare patients for surgery and monitor their progress during and after the procedure. The surgeon is the leader of the surgical team and is responsible for ensuring that the operation goes smoothly and with minimal complications.
The surgeon directs all nurses and assistants through each step of the procedure while working closely with the anesthesiologist to manage the patient's care and condition throughout the procedure. In some cases, multiple surgeons may be required for a single operation. The staff inside the operating room consists of both sterile and non-sterile members. Sterile staff are dressed in special surgical gowns, masks, hats, and gloves and can only move in the sterile area and use sterile instruments.
Non-sterile members can only move in the non-sterile zone and handle equipment that is not considered sterile. They keep surgeons stocked and deal with situations that may arise during the operation. All operating room team members must be excellent communicators and work together to create an atmosphere that best benefits the patient. Specialties in surgery include neurosurgery, which deals with brain and nervous system treatments, and cardiovascular surgery, which specializes in cardiac or arterial operations.
The surgeon and first assistant (or second if necessary) are considered sterile members of the team. In addition to these sterile members, a nurse or surgical technologist organizes instruments for the surgeon, someone who prepares the room for surgery, an anesthesiologist who monitors vital functions during surgery, and a circulating nurse who supervises cleanliness after the procedure. Other non-sterile members of the surgical team include technicians who install monitoring devices, cleaners who prepare the room for surgery, and laundry staff who provide clean clothes to the hospital. All these people are essential to providing quality care to patients undergoing surgery.
After completing basic surgical training (F2), surgeons gain experience performing different surgeries by working with surgical care professionals (SCPs). SCPs are non-medical professionals such as nurses, operations department professionals, or physical therapists who have expanded their training to work as part of surgical teams. Once a surgical procedure has been completed, the patient is taken to a recovery room, where post-anesthesia personnel take over from the surgical team under the guidance of the surgeon and anesthesiologist. A Surgical Center should comply with applicable federal civil rights laws and not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, age, disability, or sex. As medical technology advances, more specialties in surgery are being developed to treat every function and organ in the body.
The foundation's physicians are primarily concerned with preparing patients and observing procedures performed by surgical trainees.
