Job Spotlight: Chris Boynton, surgical technologist

It's a vital health-care job when it comes to surgery, and it's a hot one.

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates there are just under 100,000 surgical technologists working across the United States.

The future need? There should be nearly 30,000 surgical technologist positions created by the year 2022, "much faster than average," according to the BLS.

Those in the profession currently take home a national median salary of $41,790 per year, or around $20 per hour.

For Columbus native Chris Boynton, despite moving between a few entry-level jobs early in his life, destiny seemed to steer him toward his career in health care.

His mother retired a few years ago as a registered nurse at Doctors Hospital in Columbus, while his sister was a nurse before turning to sociology.

"And my mom has four sisters who are all registered nurses," said Boynton, 39. "I never thought about it when I was younger, but it worked out pretty good."

That's an apt statement.

He got his start at Northside Medical Center in north Columbus when it was still called Hughston Hospital. His first job was hospital attendant, a person who tends to patients' needs, moving them around and cleaning up rooms.

A year into that position, a surgical technologist took Boynton under his wing, providing on-the-job training that led to him landing a position on the surgical tech staff.

That was 16 years ago and Boynton hasn't looked back, even though he says the future includes heading back to school to become a registered nurse.

The job of surgical tech typically requires a postsecondary certificate or an associate degree, according to the BLS. Duties include preparing equipment inside the operating room prior to surgery -- which sometimes last several hours -- then assisting surgeons during the operations that they perform.

The Ledger-Enquirer visited with Boynton recently after a long day of work to discuss his job, why he does it, and the enjoyment he gets from it.

This interview is edited a bit for length and clarity.

How did your health care career start?

My mother suggested I go over to Hughston Hospital and apply for a job, and I got the attendant job. I guess I did a good job as an attendant, so they asked me if I wanted to scrub and move up. So I took the opportunity.

Did you consider anything other than health care?

I had a little interest in computers when I first started college. But I guess that changed with the opportunity that I had here. I did have a job opportunity at Aflac. I applied for both jobs. But Hughston called first and I ended up here. I could have went to Aflac. That was a bottom-level position.

Do you look at it as a blessing?

Yes. I love what I do, especially the people around here, and just the place. It worked out very, very well.

What's a typical day like for you?

I probably average four to five cases or surgeries a day. There's more in the morning and then it slows down in the afternoon. I'm mostly in spine, but also total joints. I do have a little general surgery.

You're working on spines alongside the doctor?

Yes. I assist the surgeon. I have all of the instruments and I make sure he has whatever he needs to perform the operation. I pass the instruments to him. He uses scalpels, cobs (elevator), curette (dilators), pituitary rongeurs, different sound probes, saws, drills. It's like a mechanic shop in there (laughs).

When you first started doing this, was it an adjustment for you?

Yes, it was, because you never get a chance to see blood like that outside of surgery. But I didn't faint or anything. (laughs) It's no problem now.

Walk us through getting ready for surgery?

You get here in the morning and figure out what case you're doing and what extremity you might be working on. After I find out what I'm doing and what room I'm in, I go collect my trays and come back and set up my case. Usually I have about 10 to 15 minutes of down time while I'm waiting on my patient to get ready.

Have you talked to the doctor at that point?

No, I haven't talked to him yet. He comes in a little bit later.

And then?

After a patient comes into the room, I go scrub my hands, wash my hands up. While the attendants are positioning the patient, I'm waiting. I then drape the patient out. Once I drape them out, that's when they call the doctor, who comes in, and then it's time to operate. They'll be under anesthesia, and the only thing you probably see will just be the surgery site, the part that you're working on.

How long do surgeries last?

A one-level orthopedic spinal fusion will probably take ... maybe about an hour and a half to two hours.

What's the longest surgery you've been involved in?

I've done some scoliosis surgeries (curvature of the spine) and those probably last about four to five hours. It depends on how bad the curve is.

Do you get any breaks during the surgery?

No, it will be straight through. We have been in surgeries about six to seven hours, but that's not that common here.

What communication is there between you and the doctor? Is there any joking?

Once they get started, they're pretty focused. It's strictly business and professional.

What goes through your mind?

You have to be right in line with the doc. He's constantly having his head down. He's in a position where he's going to be fixated. So you have to be fixated, too, to make sure you stay on the same page together.

Who else is in the surgery room?

We have the registered nurse and the anesthesiologist, and the doctor, and me. We might have a physician's assistant, depending (on the case).

Do you feel any pressure?

Early on (in his career he did), because it's so new. But once you've been doing it for a while, you feel comfortable. Plus, a lot of the surgeries are repetitive. We do a lot of the same surgeries, so you get a comfortable feeling knowing what needs to be done.

Aside from spines, what else do you do?

Total joints, which is a total knee or a total hip or a total shoulder. We also do should scopes and knee scopes, we do feet. Pretty much any joint area, and your neck and spine.

How long does a total hip replacement take?

A hip replacement can go two or two and half hours. We work with some very good doctors and are very lucky with the docs we have.

Would you like to do something beyond this?

I guess there will be a stepping stone at some point in time. I'm going to go back to school to become registered nurse. That's the goal ... It would probably take about three to four years (while working).

What's the most challenging aspect of your job?

It's not really hard (laughs). I could say just the standing, but it's not bad. Everyone's body is different, so you never know what you're going to get until you get in there. But staying focused for a long time is second nature to me now.

What's the most rewarding part of your job?

You know that you're helping somebody out. You're giving 100 percent. And I guess it's seeing the finished job that you helped the doctor do, and knowing that you had a hand in that. That's really rewarding -- somebody came in with a problem, and you helped fix it.

How many surgical techs are there here?

I would say roughly 10 to 12. But we have combined RNs who scrub also. A couple are cross-trained.

What advice would you give people who might consider becoming a surgical tech?

Definitely get certified. Besides that, make sure that you want to be in the health-care field, that you want to be around it. I guess you've got to have a big heart. Care-giving is a pretty special thing to do.

Anything else you would like to point out?

The people, the other employees that I get a chance to work with, they make the job easy. There's not a lot of turnover, as far as workers here. Everybody's been here like 10 years, seven years, so it kind of feels like a family group and everybody helps each other out. That makes your day a lot easier, more pleasant.

This story was originally published September 20, 2014 at 11:45 PM with the headline "Job Spotlight: Chris Boynton, surgical technologist."