The Surgical First Assistant

A complete guide to the role of surgical first assistant, this book covers the principles of assisting and teaches the fundamentals of the position. Surgical knots, instrument handling, suturing techniques, and dissecting techniques are demonstrated through photographs and step-by-step instruction. The book also includes a comprehensive section on surgical tasks that first assistants are expected to perform during surgery.l

Ruben West received his initial operating room training at the Academy of Health Sciences in Fort Sam Houston, Texas, as a surgical technologist. He worked as a surgical technologist in Topeka, Kansas, before serving with the 410th Evacuation Hospital as the Non-Commissioned Officer In Charge (NCOIC) during Operation Desert Shield/Storm. Ruben is now a multi-disciplined surgical first assistant, and currently practices in the Midwest. He is licensed in the state of Illinois as a registered surgical assistant, and holds the SA-C certification from the American Board of Surgical Assistants, and the CFA designation from the National Board of Surgical Technology and Surgical Assisting. James Johnson received his initial operating room training at the Academy of Health Sciences in Fort Sam Houston, Texas, as a surgical technologist, and then worked at St. Vincent s Hospital in Little Rock, Arkansas, as a surgical technologist. He also worked as a procurement specialist for the Arkansas Regional Organ Recovery Agency (ARORA). He is a multi-disciplined surgical first assistant and currently practices in the Midwest. James is licensed in the state of Illinois as a registered surgical assistant and is board certified by the American Board of Surgical Assistants (SA-C), as well as the National Surgical Assistant Association (CSA). Ronald Degon received his initial operating room training at the Academy of Health Sciences in Fort Sam Houston, Texas, as a surgical technologist. After serving 4 years of active duty in the U.S. Army, Ron worked as a surgical technologist in the states of Washington, Texas, and Kansas. He is a multi-disciplined surgical first assistant, and currently practices in the Midwest. Ron is licensed in the state of Illinois as a registered surgical assistant, and is board certified as an SA-C by the American Board of Surgical Assistants. Dr.William R.C. Murphy is a surgeon with the Wichita Surgical Specialists, and is a Clinical Associate Professor in the Department of Surgery at the University of Kansas School of Medicine. He completed postgraduate fellowship training in cardiovascular surgery at the University of New Mexico. Dr. Murphy is a member of several professional associations, including the American College of Surgeons, the American Society of Thoracic Surgeons, and the American College of Cardiology. He is a graduate of the University of Chicago Medical School. Ron, Ruben, and James joined forces in 2001 to devote themselves to improving the profession of surgical first assisting. In 2002, the authors collaborated with Kevin S. Wilson and Tiffany McManus, RN, BSR, CNOR, RNFA, SA-C, to form the Elite School of Surgical First Assisting, a distance learning program based in Kansas. Ron, Ruben, and James have since moved on to collaborate with Capital Area Career Center in Springfield, Illinois, and Rock Valley College in Rockford, Illinois, acting as curriculum consultants and adjunct faculty on the first assistant training programs for these organizations.