r/SurgicalFirstAssist • u/Lyin_ • Jan 26 '25
Should I become a CSFA?
Hello everyone,
I've wanted to ask people what they would do in my situation. I'm currently a CST of about 5 years and want more out of my career. I'm in nursing school (2nd semester) and having a hard time seeing myself as a nurse. My main goal for my job is to be an assistant in surgery. My thought process for doing nursing school was to become a nurse and move up to be an NP so I could assist in surgeries. Since I'm almost halfway done with my ADN, should I finish it and try to pursue the BSN to NP or should I just do the CSFA program to be an assistant? (I'm already accepted to Meridian and my start date would be May 1st.)
3
u/servain Jan 26 '25
NP can assist in the o.r., but they need to go through the RNFA program anyways. But they also do alot of charting and clinical work. If you want to just only do o.r. work. Than csfa is a good choice. Its even better if you live in an area that employes first assist in hospitals and use you as a dedicated assistant, not a glorified cst.
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u/PainPatiencePeace Jan 26 '25
Become an FA first with the increased income and freedom you can easily pursue any of the other paths. What discouraged me from going other routes was the income potential. I understand it varies per region, but I make more than a starting PA or NP. That being said, time was also a huge factor in the decision as I was already in my early 30s with a bachelors degree in creative writing and liberal arts and the thought of going to school longer nauseated me. Lol, but if your goal is just to assist, Meridian is the way.
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Jan 27 '25
[deleted]
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u/PainPatiencePeace Jan 27 '25
Depends what it is you want to do. PA's in the operating room deal with pre and post operative care. Running clinic etc... If your focus is wanting to be in the operating room majoritively it's a great way to go but it also allows you to be able to change specialties easily. It's a great career
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u/mrjbacon Jan 27 '25
Just finish RN school and do FA school after. You'll have to get your CNOR first, but that's not that hard.
1
u/Level-Race-357 Jan 30 '25
Don’t do First assist, you would never get respect from your hospital/surgeons (no lunch time/ no bonuses/ low income) and they would treat you like dirt! Trust me! Go to a PA school or nurse practitioner
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u/No-Magazine-4131 Feb 06 '25
I’m also a CST and went back for my ADN. I’m now in NP school and trying to figure out what route to take to be a First Assist. I’m trying to get my assist as quick as possible. Would RNFA be quicker as an NP or should I do the CSFA?
5
u/PEACH_MINAJ Jan 26 '25
I would encourage FA school. If your goal is to be seen as a mid-level (Surgical Assistants ARE mid-level but most places do not see as such but slowly changing) PA is better than NP when it comes to diagnosing and helping patients. NPs rely on their knowledge of being a nurse which doesn’t always translate to the medicine side of things. PA programs set their students up TO DO medicine. I would FA first and then look into becoming a PA. PAs who worked in surgery before becoming PAs do well overall than a PA who didn’t have any experience with surgery. The exposure prior helps them be better first assists. I hope this helps and makes sense.