Surgical Technology & Sterile Processing
Healthcare Headhunters recruits healthcare professionals for employers. No upfront fee. You pay only if you hire.
This is what we do all day: recruit healthcare professionals.
Your surgical schedule suffers when a candidate knows the title but not your cases, trays, equipment, or instrument flow.
No postings. No stacks of resumes. No chasing. You interview a short list.
No upfront fee. You pay only if you hire.
Need someone now? Call 305-306-4829.
What happens next
- We review your role, responsibilities and location.
- Ivan or a senior team member will reach out soon.
- You meet a focused shortlist when qualified candidates fit the agreed search.
- Fees.
- No upfront fee. Pay only if you hire, under the signed agreement.
- Exclusivity.
- Set out in the signed client agreement.
- Confidentiality.
- We agree the brief before outreach. This is not a promise of absolute anonymity.
- No hire.
- No hire means no fee on standard searches.
What does an open seat cost you every week?
An open role costs you more than the recruiting fee. Someone covers the work, waits for care, or stops a service. We ask what is falling behind and who is carrying it. Use your own figures to compare the cost of waiting with the cost of hiring.
The seat is costing you every week.
Overtime, diverted patients, a stretched team and a schedule held together by favors.
The posting brought the wrong people.
Applicants arrive, but the person who has done this exact work is employed and not looking.
You are the one chasing.
Screening calls, no-shows and follow-ups land on the desk of someone with a facility to run.
What does this hire really come down to?
Surgical technology and sterile processing connect through instruments, but they are separate jobs. A surgical technologist sets up the room, maintains the sterile field, handles counts, passes instruments, and breaks down after cases. A sterile processing professional decontaminates, inspects, assembles, packages, sterilizes, documents, and returns sets to service.
We define the opening before we recruit.
A surgical technologist with joint-replacement experience may fit orthopedics but need added training for neuro, thoracic, cardiac, or robotics cases. We ask what fills your board, which trays delay rooms, and what a difficult turnover involves.
Sterile processing needs a separate review. A candidate from an outpatient center may know rapid repeat sets but have limited exposure to loaner trays, rigid containers, or varied inpatient case carts. We ask what they did when a package was wet, an indicator result raised concern, or a completed tray did not match its count sheet. Your team completes clinical assessment and credentialing.
We arrange locum tenens, travel and contract coverage on request. Credentialing, licensing and malpractice coverage are confirmed per engagement before anyone starts.
What do we check before you see anyone?
Confirm the credential named for the opening. We screen current CST or CSFA certification through NBSTSA or NCCSA when applicable. For sterile processing roles, we review credentials such as CRCST when your role or policy calls for them. A preferred certificate is not treated as a universal legal rule.
- Review first-assist scope before presenting a CSFA. We ask what first-assist tasks the person performed and whether state law called for a license or other authorization. A CSFA title alone does not establish that the candidate can perform the duties in your opening.
- Match service-line exposure to the shift. We ask about orthopedic implants, spine sets, neuro trays, thoracic cases, general surgery, or other cases on your board. For surgical technologists, we cover setup, counts, intraoperative support, breakdown, and turnover.
- Check sterile processing equipment knowledge. We ask about steam sterilizers, low-temperature hydrogen peroxide gas plasma systems, washers, ultrasonic cleaners, and tracking systems. We also ask what the candidate checked before releasing a load or returning a set to circulation.
- Clarify pace and handoffs. A surgery center may turn repeating trays between short procedures. A hospital may add emergency cases and move instruments among several services. We ask how the person reported a delayed tray, documented the handoff, and handled competing requests.
- Review work history and reasons for moving. We ask about call, weekends, commute, supervision, service-line changes, and desired case exposure. A move may follow a changed schedule or limited specialty work, but the explanation must fit the role you offer.
Where do we find them, and why would they move?
We speak with surgical technology professionals from hospital ORs, community facilities, academic centers, ambulatory surgery centers, and specialty programs. Titles can hide major differences. Someone from an eye center may know repeatable turnover but have little exposure to broad inpatient instrumentation.
For sterile processing searches, source pools include central sterile departments, outpatient procedure centers, hospitals, and specialty facilities. People may consider a move after a service-line change, an impractical commute, or a desire for different instrumentation exposure. We present your shift, equipment, case mix, and call expectations plainly.
Which mistakes stall the search?
A common mistake is hiring on total years alone, without asking which cases, sets, implants, and surgeon preferences the person supported, leaves training gaps after the start date. Another is treating scrub work and sterile processing as interchangeable can put a strong reprocessing professional into active sterile-field work, or the reverse.
Assuming certification proves familiarity with robotics, implant systems, container sets, or your sterilization equipment makes the interview too shallow.
How would we run the search for this opening?
Tell us the role, shift, call, service lines, equipment, and tasks that create pressure. We present candidates whose credentials, work history, specialty exposure, and reasons for moving align with the opening. You interview, assess technical fit, and complete internal credentialing.
Describe the opening
We separate scrub, first-assist, and sterile processing duties before beginning the search.
Review screened candidates
You choose who merits an interview and practical evaluation.
Make a supported hire
No upfront fee. You pay only if you hire. We offer a candidate replacement guarantee on standard search agreements. The applicable period and exact terms are set out in the signed client recruiting agreement.
Every title in Surgical Technology & Sterile Processing
- Surgical Technologist (Surgical Tech, Scrub Tech, CST)
- CVOR Surgical Technologist (Open Heart Scrub Tech)
- Certified Surgical First Assistant (CSFA, CSA, Surgical Assistant)
- Anesthesia Technician
- Sterile Processing Technician (SPD Tech, Central Sterile Tech, CRCST)
- Sterile Processing Lead / Supervisor
- Endoscope Reprocessing Technician (Scope Tech)
- Orthopedic Technologist (Ortho Tech, Cast Tech)
- Lead Surgical Technologist
- Senior Surgical Technologist
- Lead Anesthesia Technician
Do you review CST, CSFA, or CRCST status?
We screen available certification information and discuss the credentials stated for your role. We also ask about state-specific surgical-assisting rules when first-assist duties are involved. Your facility makes the final credentialing and compliance decision. A CSFA may have first-assist experience, yet state law and your facility’s scope determine whether those duties belong in the role.
Should we recruit one person for surgical technology and sterile processing?
Only if your duties, training, and internal policies support that structure. The roles connect through instrument flow, but scrub work differs from decontamination, inspection, assembly, and sterilization.
How do you screen a surgical technologist for our service lines?
We ask for specific cases, sets, implants, and room responsibilities. If you need spine support, we ask about setup, instrument organization, counts, implant exposure, turnover, and the person’s role during the case.
Can you help with contract or travel coverage?
Yes: we arrange locum tenens, travel and contract coverage on request. Credentialing, licensing and malpractice coverage are confirmed per engagement before anyone starts.
What should we disclose early to reduce offer withdrawals?
Share the shift pattern, call, weekends, service lines, equipment, orientation plan, pay range, and relocation details early. Candidates also need to know whether the opening is room-based, sterile processing-based, or includes first-assist duties.
What should you send us about this role?
Send us the role, where the person will work and what needs to change with this hire. We will ask about the work, not just the title. Share any license or schedule limits that could rule someone out before we begin the search.
Tell Healthcare Headhunters which cases need support, where instrument flow slows, and what your team expects on shift.
No upfront fee. You pay only if you hire. We offer a candidate replacement guarantee on standard search agreements. The applicable period and exact terms are set out in the signed client recruiting agreement.
What happens next
- We review your role, responsibilities and location.
- Ivan or a senior team member will reach out soon.
- You meet a focused shortlist when qualified candidates fit the agreed search.
- Fees.
- No upfront fee. Pay only if you hire, under the signed agreement.
- Exclusivity.
- Set out in the signed client agreement.
- Confidentiality.
- We agree the brief before outreach. This is not a promise of absolute anonymity.
- No hire.
- No hire means no fee on standard searches.
What do you get at each step of the search?
Our process for every search: calibrate the seat with you, map the market, research the real people, reach out to each one personally, qualify them in live conversation, then hand you a short list with a written brief on each person and support through the offer.
Search Calibration
You get an agreed brief: the work, reporting line, credentials, schedule, and offer you can make.
Market Mapping
You get a search aimed at relevant backgrounds, including people working now who have not applied.
Professional Contact Intelligence
We check appropriate ways to reach the people identified for your search. You do not have to chase them yourself.
Persistent Personalized Outreach
We explain your actual job and follow up with people who may consider a conversation.
Live Candidate Qualification
You see people we have spoken with about the work, interest, and practical fit, not an unread resume pile.
Candidate Intelligence and Process Support
You get a written brief and support through interviews and offer discussions. You make the hiring decision.
How long will it take to see a short list?
That depends on the job, schedule, available people, and what your employer can offer. We discuss those constraints before outreach and update you as candidates respond. We do not promise a fixed shortlist date. We check the job brief before arranging interviews. Tell us which parts of the role you can change.
What if a candidate receives a counteroffer?
We ask why the person wants to move and discuss competing decisions before an offer. A counteroffer can still change their choice. Keep the duties and offer clear rather than assuming more money settles every concern. Tell us early if parts of your offer cannot change, so the candidate hears it from us first.
What are the replacement terms?
We offer a candidate replacement guarantee on standard search agreements. The applicable period and exact terms are set out in the signed client recruiting agreement. Ask us to walk through those terms before you sign, so you know how a replacement would work for your opening and who would start it.
What do we not do in a standard permanent search?
We do not bill standard contingency search by the hour or simply repost your job. Temporary coverage is a separate arrangement. Any retainer or different engagement must be agreed, not assumed. Tell us early if you need coverage while the permanent search runs.