Surgeries account for a significant chunk of many hospitals’ revenue, but those hospitals cannot run surgeries safely without surgical technologists, who are in short supply.
Surgical technologists prepare operating rooms, sterilize and arrange instruments, pass supplies to the surgical team, hold retractors and cut sutures during procedures. A shrinking training pipeline, low pay and high turnover are squeezing the supply of these workers, just as an aging population drives surgical demand higher and more cases shift to outpatient settings.
At some health systems, leaders rank this supply and demand issue alongside the nursing shortage as a threat to keeping operating rooms open.
Editor’s note: Surgical technologists are different from surgical assistants, or surgical first assistants, who take a more hands-on role during the operation itself and are more often nurses or physician assistants. This article is about surgical technologists.
Facts about the shortage
- About 117,500 people worked as surgical technologists in the U.S., as of May 2025, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
- For some figures, BLS combines data about surgical technologists and surgical assistants. Employment of the two roles is projected to grow 5% from 2024 to 2034 — faster than the 3% average for all occupations — with about 8,700 job openings a year over the decade. The openings will mostly replace workers who leave the field or retire.
- The average annual wage for surgical technologists was $68,710 in May 2025. The lowest 10% earned less than $45,940, while the highest 10% earned more than $96,940.
- Pay varies widely by geography. Massachusetts had the highest average wage at $83,820 in the most recent BLS data, but Minnesota ranked highest after adjusting for cost of living. Alabama, at $50,680, was the lowest.
- The number of accredited surgical technology programs has fallen from more than 500 to about 430 in recent years, according to the Association of Surgical Technologists and accreditation data, representing an approximate 21% decline.
What is driving the shortage?
Several forces are compounding:
- A shrinking pipeline. Fewer accredited programs mean fewer graduates sitting for the National Board of Surgical Technology and Surgical Assisting certification exam. The Association of Surgical Technologists said it is “very concerned” about the growing number of nonaccredited programs and rising prevalence of on-the-job training.
- Low awareness. Industry groups have pointed to limited visibility of the profession relative to other healthcare careers, such as registered nurses or physicians, as a root cause.
- Pay and working conditions. The work is physically demanding — surgical technologists have one of the highest injury and illness rates of any occupation, according to BLS — and compensation lags the broader healthcare practitioner and technical field, which had an average annual wage of $108,700 in mid-2025.
- Rising demand. As the population ages, the volume of surgeries is climbing. According to the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality’s most recent analysis on OR utilization, more than 25% of U.S. inpatient stays involve at least one operating room procedure. BLS expects the sharpest demand growth in ambulatory surgery centers and other outpatient settings.
How the shortage affects health systems
Because surgeries generate a large share of hospital revenue, gaps in OR staffing translate quickly into delayed cases and financial risk.
At Philadelphia-based Penn Medicine, the surgical tech shortage is “on par with the nursing shortage,” Kevin Mahoney, CEO of the University of Pennsylvania Health System, told Becker’s in 2024.
Mitigation strategies
Health systems are getting creative to build and retain their surgical tech workforce. Here are five strategies they are pursuing:
1. Earn-to-learn training programs. Penn Medicine has a program that hires trainees as employees and pays for their certification in exchange for a work commitment.
2. Apprenticeships that reduce financial barriers. Minneapolis-based Allina Health recently launched a surgical technologist apprentice program that lets participants train on the job and earn a wage while working toward certification, expanding access for people who might not otherwise return to school.
3. Sign-on incentives. Grand Rapids, Mich.-based Corewell Health advertised up to $10,000 in sign-on bonuses for surgical techs.
4. Academic partnerships. Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center partnered with Columbus State Community College to train students in the system’s surgical skills lab, with medical center staff teaching the curriculum, to expand enrollment.
5. Rebuilding the pipeline. Reversing the decline in accredited programs and raising awareness of the profession are longer-term fixes industry groups say are essential.
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