Surgical First Assistant Salary Guide
A surgical first assistant is an allied health professional who helps surgeons perform various procedures. The role requires frequent interaction with surgeons, registered nurses, surgical technologists and other medical professionals. As a surgical first assistant, you may perform the following duties:
Position the patient to provide direct access to the surgical site
Inject local anesthetics
Retract incisions to provide better visualization
Insert wound drains, trocars and other items into the body
Suture and cauterize tissue
Apply surgical dressings
Clamp blood vessels
Monitor patients for complications
How do you become a surgical first assistant?
To become a surgical first assistant, you need an associate degree in a closely related allied health profession or a bachelor's degree in health sciences. The program you choose should include courses in human anatomy, biology and other basic sciences, coupled with opportunities to gain hands-on skills in an operating room setting.
As of May 2023, only eight states and the District of Columbia have licensure requirements for surgical assistants, according to the Association for Surgical Technologists. The requirements vary slightly from one state to the next, so check with your licensing body to determine if you're eligible.
What credentials/licensing does a surgical first assistant require?
Even if your state doesn't require a license to practice, potential employers often prefer to hire employees with nationally recognized certifications. The National Board of Surgical Technology and Surgical Assisting offers the Certified Surgical First Assistant (CSFA) credential for graduates of accredited SFA programs. You may be eligible if you graduated from an SFA program accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs during enrollment. To obtain the CSFA, you must pass an exam consisting of 150 scored questions.
Average Surgical First Assistant Salary
$44.10/hour
The average salary for a Surgical First Assistant is $44.10 per hour.
Last updated on April 26, 2024. Based on active jobs on Vivian.com.
What are the highest paying Employers and Agencies for Surgical First Assistant jobs?
| Average Hourly Salary | Max Hourly Salary | |
|---|---|---|
| FirstHealth of the Carolinas | $26 | $26 |
Last updated on April 26, 2024. Information based on active jobs on Vivian.com and pay data from BLS and around the web.
Surgical First Assistant Career Guide
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How can you increase your pay as a surgical first assistant?
You can also increase your earnings by getting the CSFA credential or specializing in a specific type of surgical assisting. Passing the CSFA exam makes it easier to demonstrate your competency, which may help you convince employers to offer higher starting rates. Medical facilities also tend to pay more for SFAs with specialized knowledge and skills. Some of the most common specialties include cardiothoracic, obstetrical, neurosurgical, orthopedic and vascular. Another option is to specialize in organ transplants or ophthalmological procedures.
How much does a staff surgical first assistant make?
Staff surgical first assistants (SFA) earned an average of $34.54 per hour, according to Vivian Health's salary data for the week ending May 13, 2023. That corresponds to a weekly salary of $1,381.60 for 40 work hours.
Is the surgical first assistant field a growing career?
Surgical first assistants benefit from a growing career, as evidenced by the positive occupational outlook. According to analysts from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), employment in this field should increase by 6% between 2021 and 2031, per May 2021 data. This represents an additional 1,200 jobs.
The U.S. Census Bureau reports that all baby boomers will be at least 65 years old by 2030. Older people tend to have more health problems than younger people, so medical facilities may need more surgical first assistants to account for the increased demand for various surgeries.
What types of employers/facilities have the most surgical first assistants employed?
About 41% of surgical assistants worked in public and private hospitals, according to May 2021 BLS data. Another 25% of SFAs worked in physician offices, while 20% were employed by dental practices. Outpatient care centers and other healthcare facilities also provided employment opportunities to surgical first assistants.
Which employers/facilities have the highest pay?
Physician offices had the highest median salary for surgical first assistant jobs at $61,250 annually, per BLS data in May 2021. Although hospitals account for the highest percentage of SFA employment, the median hospital salary was over $10,000 less than the median for physician offices. Dental practices had the lowest annual wages for this profession at $40,540.
How does surgical first assistant pay compare to similar healthcare jobs?
Surgical first assistants tend to earn more than allied health professionals in similar roles. For example, according to Vivian’s salary data on May 13, 2023, staff certified surgical technologists had an average hourly rate of $32.54. That rate was $2 per hour less than staff surgical first assistants earn. During this same period, travel SFAs earned an average of 2,854 per week, while travel certified surgical technologists averaged $1,993 weekly, a difference of $861.
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