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A U G U S T 2 0 1 4 | O U T P AT I E N T S U R G E R Y M A G A Z I N E O N L I N E
Eugene Murphy, MD
STAFFING
The Case for Surgical First Assistants
5 good reasons to partner with these physician extenders.
S
urgical first assistants
(SFAs) set up my
instruments, communi-
cate my needs to the surgical
team and anticipate my every
move during procedures,
which lets me focus more of
my attention on the intrica-
cies of surgery. With an SFA
by my side providing
advanced, hands-on support,
I'm able to reduce my proce-
dure time and increase my
procedure volume. My out-
comes are better, too. Here
are 5 key benefits to working
with SFAs.
Greater efficiency
Clearly your surgeons and staff can successfully perform the
procedures you host. But are they performing them as efficiently as
possible?
I'm a busy general and vascular surgeon who operates in hospitals
and surgery centers in St. Petersburg, Fla. I need to perform efficient
surgeries to keep up with my high-volume caseload. SFAs who are
familiar with how I work and what I need help me perform up to 17
cases a day and nearly 1,000 procedures a year. They anticipate the
next step in procedures and have needed equipment primed and
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SURGEON'S SIDEKICK Eugene Murphy, MD, works alongside
Cynthia Y. Gourley, PA-C, regional clinical supervisor at Intralign.
