Perioperative Support Assistant - Operating Rooms(Job Id 17380)

Job title: Perioperative Support Assistant - Operating Rooms

Job ID: 17380

Site: CA:ON:Toronto:St. Michael's Hospital

Category:

Work type: Full-Time Permanent

Date posted: October 9, 2026

Salary range: 32.16-35.15

Shift/ hours of work:

Description

The OR Attendant provides essential perioperative support in a high-acuity Operating Room environment by ensuring safe patient handling, timely room turnover, infection prevention compliance, equipment readiness, and rapid response to urgent, trauma, and emergency surgical needs.

The role requires specialized knowledge gained through the OR Attendant course and ongoing competency validation, and the ability to translate clinical direction, surgical service requirements, and physician preferences into safe and efficient action.

This position directly contributes to patient safety, infection prevention, OR efficiency, reduced turnover times, improved surgical flow, and effective collaboration within the interdisciplinary surgical team.

DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

- Provide essential perioperative operational support to ensure safe, efficient, and uninterrupted surgical care.
- Support surgical services across Orthopedics, Neurosurgery, Spine, Plastics, Cardiac, Vascular, Urology, Gynecology, General Surgery, Ophthalmology, ENT, and Trauma.
- Independently assess and prioritize competing demands based on:
- Procedure complexity
- Patient and staff safety
- Surgical schedule and urgent add-on cases
- Specialized equipment and supply requirements
- Patient-specific needs




- Lead procedure-specific OR readiness by coordinating:
- Specialized equipment and technology
- Supplies and instruments
- Emergency and contingency resources
- Set up ORs according to procedure requirements, surgeon preference cards, patient positioning needs, hospital standards, emergency readiness requirements, and manufacturer instructions.
- Verify room, equipment, and supply readiness before each procedure.
- Identify and address missing, unsafe, or malfunctioning equipment and supplies to prevent delays and protect patient safety.
- Anticipate and respond to changing surgical schedules, urgent/trauma/emergency cases, and competing priorities to maintain efficient case flow and timely starts.
- Maintain critical supply inventory, replenish supplies, minimize waste, and elevate shortages that may affect patient care or OR operations.
- Support rapid and safe case turnover to ensure the OR is fully prepared for the next patient.
- Operate, inspect, prepare, and support the protected use of specialized OR equipment within the scope of the role, including:
- OR tables
- Suction systems
- ESU equipment
- C-arms
- Microscopes
- Positioning equipment
- Other specialized perioperative technology




- Identify equipment issues or hazards and initiate appropriate corrective action or escalation to RN, Team Leader, Biomedical Engineering, MDRD, or supervisor.
- Follow manufacturer instructions and established safety standards when handling and operating equipment.
- Apply and uphold IPAC, occupational health and safety, environmental, and OR standards during room preparation, procedures, turnover, equipment handling, and waste management.
- Perform and verify appropriate decontamination, disinfection, and environmental readiness measures.
- Maintain awareness of:
- Sterile-field boundaries
- Blood and bodily fluid exposure
- Immediately identify, stop or contain, communicate, and upscale aseptic breaches, contamination events, environmental hazards, equipment-related risks, and unsafe work practices.
- Take appropriate corrective action and follow through until identified risks are resolved or transferred to the appropriate clinical leader.
- Support practices that protect sterile integrity, prevent infection, and reduce risk of patient or staff harm.
- Provide direct support for safe patient transport, transfer, positioning, and handling according to procedure requirements, patient-specific risks, physician direction, and established safety standards.
- Respond promptly to requests from nurses, surgeons, anesthesiologists, and other members of the surgical team.
- Anticipate patient-care and procedural support needs, particularly during high-acuity, trauma, emergency, and rapidly changing situations.
- Open sterile supplies as directed while maintaining aw

📌 Perioperative Support Assistant (Canada)
🏢 St. Michael's Hospital
📍 Canada