Surgical technologists are responsible for laying out the proper surgical instruments.
Surgical technologists, sometimes referred to as scrubs, are health care technologists who assist the surgical team before, during and after the surgical procedure. They may prepare the operating room prior to the procedure by ensuring the proper equipment, instruments, solutions and drapes are in place. They may prep patients for surgery and assist during surgical procedures by passing the proper instruments to members of the surgical team. Wages for surgical technologists may vary based on their geographic location. Those who worked in Kentucky tended to earn lower wages than the national average.
Kentucky Wages
The mean annual income for Kentucky-based surgical technologists was $35,200 as of May 2009, according to the U.S. Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics. The bottom 10 percent of Kentucky-based scrubs earned less than $26,730 per year. The top 10 percent earned annual wages in excess of $44,040. The middle 50 percent of surgical technologists who practiced in Kentucky earned between $30,170 and $39,640 per year.
Regional Wages
A Kentucky-based surgical technologist's income can be significantly affected by the part of the state where she practices. The Cincinnati-Middletown, Ohio-Kentucky-Indiana region offered the greatest number of job opportunities for scrubs in the state. Those who worked in this region earned mean annual wages of $38,380 as of May 2009, according to the BLS. Surgical technologists who worked in the Evansville, Indiana-Kentucky region earned the highest mean annual wages in the state at $38,690. Those who worked in the non-metropolitan area of East Kentucky earned the lowest mean annual wages in Kentucky at $31,160.
National Wages
The mean annual wage for surgical technologists across the United States was $40,710 as of May 2009, according to the BLS, significantly higher than the mean wages earned by Kentucky-based surgical technologists. The bottom 10 percent of U.S.-based scrubs earned less than $27,910 per year, while the top 10 percent earned annual wages in excess of $55,620. The middle 50 percent of U.S.-based surgical technologists earned between $33,090 and $47,310 per year.
Considerations
Kentucky had one of the highest concentrations of surgical assistants in the country at 1.112 per 1,000 workers as of May 2009, according to the BLS. General medical hospitals and surgical hospitals offered the greatest number of job opportunities for surgical technologists. The BLS projects an increase of 25 percent in new job opportunities for scrubs between 2008 and 2018. Jobs openings may fluctuate geographically, and those who are willing and able to relocate should have the greatest employment opportunities.
