What Is a Surgical Technology Instructor and How to Become One

A surgical technology instructor teaches students the duties and responsibilities of being a surgical technologist in a hospital or surgery center. As a surgical technology instructor, your job is to teach students how to prepare an operating room, provide pre-operative patient care, and assist a surgeon during surgery or another medical procedure or operation. Your instruction takes place both in a classroom and in a clinical setting to give students the first-hand experience they need to learn the skills and expectations of being a surgical technologist.

To pursue a career as a surgical technology instructor, you must first become a surgical technologist and gain at least three years of work experience among other qualifications. To begin your career as a surgical technologist, you need an associate degree in surgical technology, nursing, or a related major like physiology or biology along with on-the-job training. Once you have the required practical experience as a surgical technologist, you must then pass a certification exam through the National Board of Surgical Technicians and Surgery Assistants to become a licensed instructor.

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts an increased need for both surgical technologists and surgical technology instructors over the next several years. And because surgical technologist jobs are expected to increase by 30 percent through 2022, surgical technology instructors are absolutely necessary for passing on their clinical expertise to these new workers. Furthermore, because the American population is aging and getting sicker, increased numbers of patients, particularly baby boomers, need surgical procedures to improve their quality of life, remediate illness, and prevent death.