Surgical Assistants
Assist in operations, under the supervision of surgeons. May, in accordance with state laws, help surgeons to make incisions and close surgical sites, manipulate or remove tissues, implant surgical devices or drains, suction the surgical site, place catheters, clamp or cauterize vessels or tissue, and apply dressings to surgical site.
Most important skills
- Active Listening
- Speaking
- Reading Comprehension
- Critical Thinking
- Monitoring
- Coordination
- Service Orientation
- Complex Problem Solving
Key knowledge
- Medicine and Dentistry
- Education and Training
- Public Safety and Security
- English Language
- Biology
- Customer and Personal Service
- Computers and Electronics
- Engineering and Technology
What the work involves
- Adjust and maintain operating room temperature, humidity, or lighting, according to surgeon's specifications.
- Apply sutures, staples, clips, or other materials to close skin, facia, or subcutaneous wound layers.
- Assess skin integrity or other body conditions upon completion of the procedure to determine if damage has occurred from body positioning.
- Assist in the insertion, positioning, or suturing of closed-wound drainage systems.
- Assist members of surgical team with gowning or gloving.
- Clamp, ligate, or cauterize blood vessels to control bleeding during surgical entry, using hemostatic clamps, suture ligatures, or electrocautery equipment.
- Coordinate or participate in the positioning of patients, using body stabilizing equipment or protective padding to provide appropriate exposure for the procedure or to protect against nerve damage or circulation impairment.
- Maintain an unobstructed operative field, using surgical retractors, sponges, or suctioning and irrigating equipment.
Strongest interest areas (O*NET): Realistic, Conventional, Social.
Qualifications and licensing
- Most common education
- Post-Secondary Certificate (55.2% of expert ratings)
- Related experience
- Over 1 year, up to and including 2 years (51.3%)
- On-the-job training
- Over 6 months, up to and including 1 year (53.2%)
- Preparation level
- O*NET job zone 3: Job Zone Three: Medium Preparation Needed
- Licensing
- Not yet verified. Check your state licensing board.
Check before planning
- Licensing for Surgical Assistants is not yet verified for any state: check the state licensing board before planning.
Limits
- Distributions show what current workers or occupational experts report, not legal minimums.
- Requirements vary by employer and state; time to qualify is not estimated.
Source: O*NET 31.0 Database (USDOL/ETA, CC BY 4.0); BLS Employment Projections · dataset 2026.10.8 · method e3-qualification-1.0.0
Work environment
How the typical conditions of this occupation compare with 911 occupations in O*NET (very low = the lowest fifth).
Levels are relative. Most occupations involve a lot of contact with people, for example, so “very low” can still mean regular contact; the last column shows what workers actually reported.
| Condition | Level | Compared with other occupations | Most common answer (O*NET survey) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Contact with others | Very high | Higher on contact with others than 97% of occupations compared | 97% of surveyed respondents chose “Constant contact with others” |
| Dealing with the public | High | Higher on dealing with the public than 68% of occupations compared | 49% of surveyed respondents chose “Extremely important” |
| Teamwork | Very high | Higher on teamwork than 97% of occupations compared | 87% of surveyed respondents chose “Extremely important” |
| Freedom to make decisions | Very low | Lower on freedom to make decisions than 98% of occupations compared | — |
| Time pressure | Low | Lower on time pressure than 68% of occupations compared | — |
| Conflict situations | Very high | Higher on conflict situations than 94% of occupations compared | 37% of surveyed respondents chose “Every day” |
| Dealing with unpleasant or angry people | Very high | Higher on dealing with unpleasant or angry people than 90% of occupations compared | 37% of surveyed respondents chose “Once a month or more but not every week” |
| Consequence of error | Very high | Higher on consequence of error than 93% of occupations compared | 75% of surveyed respondents chose “Extremely serious” |
Work-pressure profile
- Time pressure: low
- Conflict situations: very high
- Dealing with unpleasant or angry people: very high
- Consequence of error: very high
Each part is shown on its own. There is no combined stress score, and conditions vary by employer and role.
Full answer distributions
Contact with others
- No contact with others: suppressed by O*NET (low precision)
- Occasional contact with others: suppressed by O*NET (low precision)
- Contact with others about half the time: suppressed by O*NET (low precision)
- Contact with others most of the time: 2.95%
- Constant contact with others: 97.05%
n = 13, Incumbent 08/2026
Dealing with the public
- Not important at all: 0.93%
- Fairly important: 24.08%
- Important: 11.98%
- Very important: 14.18%
- Extremely important: 48.83%
n = 13, Incumbent 08/2026
Teamwork
- Not important at all: suppressed by O*NET (low precision)
- Fairly important: suppressed by O*NET (low precision)
- Important: suppressed by O*NET (low precision)
- Very important: 12.9%
- Extremely important: 87.1%
n = 13, Incumbent 08/2026
Freedom to make decisions
- No freedom: 11.98%
- Very little freedom: 11.98%
- Limited freedom: suppressed by O*NET (low precision)
- Some freedom: 27.08%
- A lot of freedom: suppressed by O*NET (low precision)
n = 13, Incumbent 08/2026
Time pressure
- Never: 13.25%
- Once a year or more but not every month: 12.9%
- Once a month or more but not every week: 22.06%
- Once a week or more but not every day: 0.93%
- Every day: suppressed by O*NET (low precision)
n = 13, Incumbent 08/2026
Conflict situations
- Never: 11.98%
- Once a year or more but not every month: 2.02%
- Once a month or more but not every week: 14.18%
- Once a week or more but not every day: 34.97%
- Every day: 36.86%
n = 13, Incumbent 08/2026
Dealing with unpleasant or angry people
- Never: suppressed by O*NET (low precision)
- Once a year or more but not every month: 2.95%
- Once a month or more but not every week: 37.2%
- Once a week or more but not every day: 36.86%
- Every day: 22.99%
n = 13, Incumbent 08/2026
Consequence of error
- Not serious at all: 10.09%
- Fairly serious: 11.98%
- Serious: suppressed by O*NET (low precision)
- Very serious: 2.95%
- Extremely serious: 74.99%
n = 13, Incumbent 08/2026
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O*NET-SOC 29-9093.00 · SOC 29-9093 (exact, high confidence) · dataset 2026.10.8