These are the ATS keywords, credentials, and software terms that recur across current surgical technologist job descriptions — organized so you can scan for what your resume is missing. Placement matters as much as presence: an ATS keyword buried in a skills list ranks lower than the same term used in context inside an experience bullet.

Title variants

  • Surgical Technologist
  • Surgical Tech
  • Scrub Tech
  • Operating Room Technologist
  • OR Tech
  • Certified Surgical Technologist
  • Surgical First Assistant
  • Operating Department Practitioner (UK)
  • ODP
  • Scrub Practitioner

Credentials

  • CST
  • NBSTSA
  • CSFA
  • TS-C
  • NCCT
  • CAAHEP
  • BLS
  • ACLS
  • state surgical tech licence
  • HCPC
  • CODP

Specialty areas

  • general surgery
  • laparoscopic surgery
  • orthopaedics
  • total knee arthroplasty
  • total hip arthroplasty
  • arthroscopy
  • spine surgery
  • neurosurgery
  • cardiothoracic
  • cardiac surgery
  • obstetrics
  • gynaecology
  • plastics
  • trauma surgery
  • robotic surgery
  • da Vinci

Implant/instrument brands

  • Stryker
  • Zimmer Biomet
  • Arthrex
  • Smith+Nephew
  • DePuy Synthes
  • Medtronic
  • Ethicon
  • Covidien
  • Intuitive Surgical
  • da Vinci
  • Harmonic scalpel
  • Endo GIA
  • Kerrison
  • LigaSure

Technical terms

  • sterile field
  • aseptic technique
  • surgical count
  • sponge count
  • sharps count
  • instrument count
  • AORN
  • retained surgical item
  • RSI
  • surgical draping
  • gowning
  • gloving
  • sterile processing
  • autoclave
  • STERRAD
  • instrument decontamination
  • turnover time
  • Epic OpTime
  • Cerner SurgiNet

Long-tail phrases

  • surgical technologist resume
  • surgical tech resume
  • CST resume
  • scrub tech resume
  • operating room technologist resume
  • surgical technologist resume examples
  • surgical tech resume 2026
  • surgical technologist cv
  • how to write a surgical tech resume

Pasting these terms into your resume verbatim without matching context can read as keyword stuffing to a human reviewer, even if it passes the ATS. The full Surgical Technologist resume guide shows where each category belongs and how to work it into real experience bullets.