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Surgical

Certified First Assist - FT - Days - Operating Room

DHR HealthEdinburg, TXFull timePosted 2mo agoStill open, checked every night

How this pay compares

This posting does not state an hourly rate. Open surgical first assistant jobs in Texas post a median of $38.75 an hour, the middle half $35.69–$38.87, across 4 jobs that state their pay. Surgical first assistants employed in Texas earn a median of $31.22 an hour (source: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics), according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (May 2025) (source: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics).

Surgical first assistants in Texas: pay by town and employer

The Surgical Techs & Sterile Processing job market: pay, applicant demand and hiring, researched nightly

Surgical tech and sterile processing jobs in our research

  • How long these jobs stay listed: Median days to removal 20.0 days · Still listed at 7 days 72.3%
  • Applicant demand per open job on this site (1.00x is the average job): Index 1.35x · Clicks 22
  • How often these jobs state their pay: Jobs stating any pay 51.4% · Stating an hourly rate 39.0%

From every open job we read and every apply click on this site, as of 11 Nov 2026. Every figure for Surgical tech and sterile processing jobs

About the job

DHR Health - US:TX:Edinburg - Days

Summary

FLSA STATUS: ☐ Exempt ☒ Non-Exempt

MISSION STATEMENT:

Our Mission is to improve the well-being of those we serve with a commitment to excellence: every patient, every encounter, every time.

VISION:

Our Vision is to create a world-class health system to advance medicine and increase access for the communities we serve by empowering caregivers to heal through compassion, knowledge, innovation, integrated care and excellence.

POSITION SUMMARY

This position provides aid under the directive of a surgeon in exposure, hemostasis, and other intraoperative technical functions that assist the surgeon in performing a safe operation with optimal results for the patient. May provide local infiltration or the topical application of a local anesthetic at the operation site. Participates in volume replacement or auto transfusion techniques as appropriate. Will assist with OR suite clean up and turn around. May harvest saphenous vein and/or radial artery open or endoscopically in open heart procedures with proper training. May perform other duties or procedures incident to the surgical procedure deemed necessary and directed by the surgeon or anesthesiologist.

POSITION EDUCATION/ QUALIFICATIONS­

  • High School/GED required
  • Credentialed by the ABSA, LCC-ST or NSAA as a certified first assistant/certified surgical assistant or certified surgical tech having graduated from an accredited program in route to certification with proof of eligibility to take the exam for certification.
  • CST with current certification and two (2) full years of first assisting preferred.
  • Current BLS certification
  • Must be able to be sensitive to cultural and bilingual issues.
  • Good written and verbal communication skills required.
  • Ability to read, write and speak English
  • Ability to communicate clearly and concisely with all levels of nursing, administration, and physicians
  • Prefer hospital experience
  • Must be flexible with work scheduling and have the ability to be a rotating on-call schedule for the department. If called-back, must be in the hospital within 30 minutes of call team activation notice.
  • Must have proficient organizational skills and computer skills
  • High degree of competency/experience in general.
  • Requires good communication and organizational skills.
  • Requires reasoning ability and good independent judgment.

JOB KNOWLEDGE/EXPERIENCE­

  • Six (6) months – One (1) year continuous experience as a Certified Surgical Technologist (CST), Certified First Assistant (CFA) or Certified Surgical Assistant (CSA).
  • Must have excellent customer service skills.

Responsibilities

POSITION RESPONSIBILITIES

  • Promotes the facility mission, vision and values by effectively communicating them to others. Considers mission, vision and values in developing services, standards and practice .
  • Willingly assists in percepting other Certified First Assists and/or Certified Surgical Technologists or Surgical Technologist students.
  • Determines specific equipment needed per surgical procedure.
  • Pulls appropriate supplies in case carts for procedure.
  • Reviewing permit to confirm procedure and special needs and participating in “time out.”
  • Appropriately select and place diagnostic tests for reference.
  • Assists with the opening of appropriate surgical supplies on back table, assists in setting-up for the procedure and runs the back table, as necessary.
  • Ensures that the Certified Surgical Technologists (CST) has all necessary supplies for the surgical procedure, including implants.
  • Assists in moving and positioning the patient.
  • Inserts and removes of foley urinary catheter.
  • Appropriately places the pneumatic tourniquet.
  • Confirms the procedure with the surgeon.
  • Appropriately drapes the patient within the surgeon’s guidelines.
  • Provides retraction of tissues and organs for optimal visualization with regard to tissue type and appropriate retraction instrument and/or technique.
  • Assists in maintaining hemostasis by direct pressure, using and applying of appropriate surgical instrument for the task, placement of ties, placement of ligatures, application of chemical hemostatic agents, or other measures as directed by the surgeon.
  • Ability to utilize unipolar and bipolar electrocautery.
  • Harvests saphenous vein, including skin incision, per surgeon’s directive.
  • Harvests radial artery, including skin incision, per surgeon’s directive.
  • Maintains the integrity of sterile field.
  • Closes wound layers, (subcutaneous and skin) as per surgeon’s directive.
  • Inserts drainage tubes per surgeon’s directive.
  • Selects and applies wound pressure.
  • Applies appropriate wound dressings to operative site.
  • Assist in resuscitation of patient during cardiac arrest or other life threatening events in the operating room.
  • Insertion of femoral arterial line under surgeon’s directive.
  • Performing any other duties or procedures incident to the surgical procedure deemed necessary and directed by the surgeon.
  • Assists with the transfer of the patient to ICU or other designated post-procedure care area.
  • Performs other duties as assigned

Other information:

LINES OF REPSONSIBILITIES:

(Chain-of-command)

  • ACNO

CUSTOMER SERVICE:

Provide excellent customer service to all DHR customers. All employees are required to attend the DHR C.A.R.E.S program which outlines the Customer Service Principals including: Commitment, Accountability, Respect, Excellence and Service.

AGE SPECIFIC:

Employees must be able to demonstrate the knowledge and skills necessary to provide care appropriate to the age of the patients served in his/her assigned unit. The individual must demonstrate knowledge of principles of growth and development over the life span and possess the ability to assess data reflective of the patient’s status and interpret the appropriate information needed to identify each patient’s requirement relative to his or her age.

AMERICANS WITH DISABILITIES ACT: (ADA):

A. Essential Duties: Indicated by bold print within performance standards, preceding individual numbered criteria.

The following table provides physical requirements that will be associated with, but not limited to, this position:

Light/moderate lifting up to 20 lbs, from the floor to shoulder height.

Yes

Kneeling

Yes

Must be able to assist other employees with lifting more than 20 lbs.

Yes

Walking

Yes

Light/moderate carrying up to 20 lbs.

Yes

Standing/Squatting

Yes

Straight pulling

Yes

Sitting

Yes

Pulling hand over hand

Yes

Pushing

Yes

Repeated bending

Yes

Stooping/Bending

Yes

Reaching above shoulder

Yes

Climbing Stairs

Yes

Simple grasping

Yes

Climbing Ladders

No

Dual simultaneous grasping

Yes

Depth Perceptions needed

Yes

Ability to see

Yes

Identify Colors

Yes

Operating office equipment

Yes

Twisting

Yes

Operating mechanical equipment

Yes

Crawling

No

Ability to read and write

Yes

Ability to Count

Yes

Ability to hear verbal communication without aid

Yes

Operating Personal Vehicle

Yes

Ability to comprehend written/verbal communication

Yes

Other: Ability to deal with stress

Yes

OSHA Category

III

B. Working Conditions: The individual spends over 95% of his/her time in an air-conditioned environment with varying exposures to noise. There is protection from weather conditions but not necessarily from temperature changes. The position does have low exposure to malodorous, infectious body fluids from patients and some minimal exposure to noxious smells from cleansing agents.

C. Occupational Exposure: This position has minimal to no exposure to blood, body fluids, or tissues and is an OSHA Category III (although situations can be imagined or hypothesized under which anyone, anywhere, might encounter potential exposure to body fluids). Person who performs these duties are not called upon as part of their employment to perform or assist in emergency medical care or first aid or to be potentially exposed in some other way.

D. Aptitudes: HIGH 1 2 3 4 5 6 LOW

Intelligence: General learning ability: The ability to “catch on” or understand instructions and underlying principles. Ability to reason and make judgments. 3

Verbal: Ability to understand meanings of words and ideas associated with them, and to use them effectively. To comprehend language, to understand relationships between words, and to understand meanings of whole sentences and paragraphs. To present information or ideas clearly. 3

Numerical: Ability to perform arithmetic operations quickly and accurately. 2

Spatial: Ability to comprehend forms in space and understands relationships of plane and solid objects. Frequently described as the ability to “visualize” objects or two or three dimensions, or to think visually of geometric forms. 2

Form Perception: Ability to perceive pertinent details and objects or in pictorial or graphic material to make visual comparisons and discriminations and see slight differences in shapes and shadings of figures and widths and lengths of lines. 3

Clerical Perception: Ability to receive pertinent details and verbal or tabular material. To observe differences in copy, to proofread words and numbers, and to avoid perceptual errors in arithmetic computation. 2

Motor Coordination: Ability to coordinate eyes and hands to fingers rapidly and accurately in making precise movements with speed. Ability to make a movement response accurately and quickly. 3

Finger Dexterity: Ability to move hands easily and skillfully. To work with fingers in placing and turning motions. 3

Manual Dexterity: Ability to move hands easily and skillfully. To work with hands in placing and turning motions. 3

Eye-Hand-Foot Coordination: Ability to move the hand and foot coordinately with each other in accordance with visual stimuli. 3

Color Discrimination: Ability to perceive and respond to similarities or differences in colors, shapes, or other values of the same or different color. To identify a particular color, or to recognize harmonious or contrasting color combinations, or to match color adequately. 3

I have read and reviewed my job description with my supervisor or designee and I understand the job I am expected to perform.

If applicable ____________ certification will be completed within _________ time frame of hire/transfer date.

Employee Signature: ________________________________ Date: ____________________

Transfer/Hire Date Effective: ________________________.

From DHR Health's job posting, checked 13 Nov 2026. The employer's own page is the final word on requirements and availability.

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DHR Health hires nurses, nursing assistants and front-office staff in Edinburg, Texas.

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