Daily life in a hospital is complete and utter chaos. There are doctors and nurses running around treating patients, ambulances passing every now and then, children and patients crying, and surgeons telling a family their loved one didn't survive. However, aside from all this craziness, there is an operating room (OR). A place filled with pressure, intensity, high hopes and stress. A surgical technologist is there to help control the environment. When preparing patients for surgery, surgical technologists manage the equipment and the operating room, follow the surgeon's instructions, and ensure patient safety. Surgical technologists are members of the surgical team who work in the operating room with surgeons, nurses, anesthesiologists. , and other personnel before, during and after surgery. Technicians are essentially considered the “right hand” of surgeons. They may prepare a patient for surgery by washing them, shaving them, and disinfecting the area where the incision is. They arrange equipment, instruments, and supplies in the operating room according to the surgeons' and nurses' preferences (Ferguson 537). During the operation, they count all the equipment used, hold the retractors, and cut the sutures as directed. After surgery, they may clean and restock the operating room and sterilize used equipment (Ferguson 538). Being a surgical technologist requires certain characteristics such as patience, responsibility, endurance, a stable temperament, and a desire to help others. Surgical technologists must pay attention to detail, have good organizational skills, and be very attentive during lengthy surgical procedures (Hayes 842). Employment is expected to grow much faster than average. Job opportunities will be best for those who are confident that everything will work out. Just around the corner from a waiting room is an operating room, a “home” for surgical technicians, a place where miracles happen. Works Cited Bureau of Labor Statistics. Surgical technologists. US Department of Labor. April 12, 2011. Web. January 12, 2012. http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos.htmFerguson. “Surgical technologists”. Encyclopedia of Careers and Career Guidance, 14th Edition. New York: InfoBase Publishing 2008. Print. Hayes, David. “Surgical technologists”. Explore careers in healthcare. Chicago. Ferguson Publishing Company. 1998. Print. Mayo School of Health Sciences. Surgical Technology Career Overview. 2012. Web. January 12, 2012. http://www.mayo.edu/mshs/surg-career.htmlTerri. Email interview. January 22, 2012. Tuition and Fees. 2012. Internet. January 29 2012.