A demanding job can take over the structure of your life. You wake up for work, recover from work, talk about work, and plan around work. Over time, the operating room can become not only where you earn money, but…
Many employees do not think of themselves as being in business. Business is something the hospital owns. Business is what entrepreneurs do. Employees simply go to work, complete assignments, and collect a paycheck. I came to see it differently. Whether…
If you are researching what a surgical technologist actually does — and more importantly, the downsides nobody warns you about — I made a video breaking down the real cons of this career, and I want to expand on it…
The operating room asks a great deal from the body. Surgical technologists stand for long periods, hold instruments in fixed positions, wear lead, lift trays, push equipment, reach across tables, and remain mentally alert while the body becomes tired. The…
For years, saying ‘I am a surgical tech’ felt natural. It was an accurate description of my work, my skills, and a large part of my daily life. The operating room requires so much focus that the career can easily…
Early in my career, a job offer felt like something to be grateful for, not something to negotiate. If an employer gave me a number, I assumed that was the number. I needed work, I wanted experience, and sometimes I…
Surgical technology education prepared me to enter an operating room. It taught me anatomy, instrumentation, sterile technique, procedures, counts, patient safety, and the discipline required to function as part of a surgical team. Those lessons were necessary. Patients needed me…
For a long time, I thought the answer to financial stress was simply to earn more money. More hours. More call. A higher hourly rate. A better contract. Those things can help, but they do not automatically create wealth. I…
When I first became a surgical technologist, I carried a belief that had followed me from the military and into civilian life: if I worked hard, learned my job, stayed dependable, and gave more than what was required, my pay…
People always look at me sideways when I say you can make $100,000 a year as a surgical tech. Like it’s some kind of myth or something. But I’m here to tell you it is absolutely possible and I’m going…