Operation Theatre Technician: Skills, Job Role and Career

With advanced technological development in medical science and an increase in public demand, modern surgical procedures are becoming more complex and expensive. Generally, in mid-size to larger hospitals, 50% of beds are allocated to the surgical department, surgical facilities can sometimes only be an option, and serves as a central life-saving activity. The operation or surgical procedures success and failures not only influences the hospital reputation but also impacts its operations and sustainability.

1. Operation Theatre Technician: Skills, Job Role andCareer
Withadvancedtechnologicaldevelopmentinmedicalscienceandanincreaseinpublic
demand,modernsurgicalproceduresarebecomingmorecomplexandexpensive.
Generally,inmid-sizetolargerhospitals,50%ofbedsareallocatedtothesurgical
department,surgicalfacilitiescansometimesonlybeanoption,andservesasacentral
life-savingactivity.Theoperationorsurgicalproceduressuccessandfailuresnotonly
influences the hospital reputation but also impactsits operations and sustainability.
Operation Theatre Team
Theoperationtheatreteamisresponsibleforthewell-beingofthepatientthroughout
the
operation. The team members are:
●Surgeon, Assistant Surgeon
●Anaesthetist
●Operation Theatre Nurse
●Operation Theatre technicians
●Patient Care Attendants

2. Need for Skilled Operation Theatre Technicians orTechnologists
ThesurveybytheHealthMinistry’sNationalInstituteforAlliedHealthScienceandthe
PublicHealthFoundationofIndiainDecember2012,highlightedtheshortageofskilled
andqualifiedparamedicstaffinIndia.ItmentionsIndiaisshortby8.5Anaesthesiaand
Operation Theatre Technicians.
ThenumberofOTtechniciansrequiredinthehospitaldependsonthenumberof
operationtheatres,functionalhoursandaswellasthetypeofspeciality.Generally,if
oneOTisfunctionalfor24hours,thenthenumberoftechniciansrequiredis3perOT
table in the hospital. Most of the mid-size hospitalshave 3 to 4 Operation theatres.
SkilledOTtechniciansnotonlyimprovestheturnaroundtimeandutilizationofthe
operationtheatre,butalsobringsefficiencyinthesurgicalteam,andimpactsthe
patient-service quality parameters and feedback.

3. What does an Operation Theatre Technician do?
OperationTheatreTechnologistorTechnicianstaffarenotonlyawareofadvanced
equipmentandinstrumentsusedintheoperationtheatre,butarealsoawareoftheir
optimaluseonasurgicalpatient,andrespondtoacertainextentforthepatient'slife
andhealthinmanyways.Thesetechnologistscanalsoprovideservicesinlife-saving
and critical places, if need may be.
Roles and Responsibilities of Operation Theatre Technicians:
The various roles and responsibilities of an OperationTheatre Technician are:
1.Ensure working of OT equipment like anaesthesia machine,Heart-lung
machine and ventilator equipment
2.Maintenance of operation theatre records
3.Conduct regular physical verification of all the OTequipment
4.Ensure that a proper and regular supply of oxygenand suction is
maintained all the time
5.Responsible for fumigation of OT’s and their documentation
6.Ensure working of centralized oxygen piping
7.Maintenance of OT temperature and humidity as perthe protocols
8.Scavenging system for removal of anaesthetic gases
9.To verify the functioning of the anaesthesia machineand breathing system
10.Checking and confirming all instruments and medicinesare in stock and
loaded on the trolley for the surgery
11.Assists in the patient transfer or shifting from stretcherto the table and
also sometimes to and fro from OT to hospital room
12.Handling the C-ARM Machines during the surgery
13.Assisting the surgeon during the surgical procedure
14.Patient monitoring during pre-operative and Post-operativephase
15.Assisting the anaesthesiologist in providing drugs,IV fluids, blood
transfusion, and preparing drugs.

4. How to become an Operation Theatre Technician?
TobecomeanOTT,allyouneedtohaveistocompleteClass12(Science)with
Physics,ChemistryandBiologyfromarecognisedboardoruniversityandthenenrol
intoTech Mahindra SMART Academy for Healthcare. TheseAcademies are located in
Delhi,Mohali,MumbaiandPune,andareequippedwithstate-of-the-artinfrastructure
andexpertfaculty.Also,thereisaplacementteamateachAcademythatmakessure
that each student gets placement assistance afterthe completion of their course.
Apartfromtheabovequalification,aspirantsmustalsohavethezealtobecomea
skilled Operation Theatre Technician, such as:
●Love challenging roles, due to uncertainty associatedwith surgical
procedures
●Dynamic profession, since each case and patient isdifferent
●Men of action/rather than words – “Talk with Hands”
●A team player
●Adaptability and flexibility to work long hours
●Compassion towards the patients
Theotherfactorsthatcontributetobecomeasuccessfuloperationtheatre
technicianare–ClinicalandPharmacologicalKnowledge,InfectionControlPractices,
CommunicationSkills,BehaviouralSkills,Quickandalert,Courageous,Attentionin
detailorAttentive,shouldbeabletocomplywiththeOTProtocolsandregulations
(Ethics/Dedication).

5. Operation Theatre Technician course at SMART Academies
TheOperationTheatreTechniciancoursecurriculumatTechMahindraSMART
AcademiesforHealthcareisdesignedtoprovideadequateknowledgeabouttheusage
ofvariousdiagnosticequipmentsuchas–ventilators,monitors,anddefibrillators,
C-armetc.Also,theSMARTAcademiesfocusonthepracticalaspectsor
hands-on-trainingonhowtosetuptheoperationtheatreandtheinstrumenttrolleys,as
well as how to place the table, the different typesof patient positioning, etc.
TheOTTtrainingwillalsotrainyoutoworkunderthesupervisionofexperiencedand
seniordoctors.Thetrainingwillincludehowtomanageandcontroltheinfectionpolicy
andproceduresinsidetheoperationtheatre.Patientsafety,infectioncontrolpractices,
emergencypharmacology,OTdocumentationarealsoconsideredimportantmodulesin
this course.
Thecandidatewhohasappliedforthiscareerlearnstoperformexaminationsandtests
thathelpwithcuringthediseasesinpatientsandalsoprovidesthemwiththeskillsthat
are needed to take care of all the advanced equipment.
Operation Theatre Technician course at SMART Academies
TheOperationTheatreTechniciancoursecurriculumatTechMahindraSMART
AcademiesforHealthcareisdesignedtoprovideadequateknowledgeabouttheusage
ofvariousdiagnosticequipmentsuchas–ventilators,monitors,anddefibrillators,
C-armetc.Also,theSMARTAcademiesfocusonthepracticalaspectsor
hands-on-trainingonhowtosetuptheoperationtheatreandtheinstrumenttrolleys,as
well as how to place the table, the different typesof patient positioning, etc.
TheOTTtrainingwillalsotrainyoutoworkunderthesupervisionofexperiencedand
seniordoctors.Thetrainingwillincludehowtomanageandcontroltheinfectionpolicy
and procedures inside the operation theatre. Patientsafety, infection control practices,

6. emergencypharmacology,OTdocumentationarealsoconsideredimportantmodulesin
this course.
Thecandidatewhohasappliedforthiscareerlearnstoperformexaminationsandtests
thathelpwithcuringthediseasesinpatientsandalsoprovidesthemwiththeskillsthat
are needed to take care of all the advanced equipment.
Source:
https://www.smart-academy.in/blog/operation-theatre-technician-skills-job-role-an
d-career/