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assistant
(ә-sisĀ“tәnt)
one who aids or helps another; an auxiliary.
first assistant
a physician, physician assistant, nurse practitioner, surgical technologist, or specially trained registered professional
nurse who directly assists the surgeon by handling tissue, providing exposure, using surgical instruments and equipment, suturing,
and providing hemostasis.
second assistant
an individual who assists the surgeon or first assistant during an operative procedure by carrying out technical tasks such
as holding retractors; this individual does not cut, clamp, or suture tissue. This role may be performed at the same time
as the scrub role.

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