Overview
All Registered Nurses
-
$1,909 Weekly Pay
-
Very strong Future Growth
Registered Nurses (Surgical)
-
15,100 workers Employment Size
-
Very high skill Skill level rating
-
49% Full-Time Full-Time Share
-
41 hours Average full-time
-
38 years Average age
-
92% female Gender Share
Registered Nurses (Surgical) provide nursing care to patients with injuries and illness that require surgical intervention.
You usually need a bachelor degree in nursing and specialist experience to work as a Registered Nurse (Surgical).
Tasks
- Assesses, plans, implements and evaluates nursing care for patients according to accepted nursing practice and standards.
- Works in consultation with other health professionals and members of health teams, and co-ordinating the care of patients.
- Provides interventions, treatments and therapies such as medications, and monitors responses to treatment and care plans.
- Promotes health and assists in preventing ill health by participating in health education and other health promotion activities.
- Answers questions and providing information to patients and families about treatment and care.
- Supervises and co-ordinates the work of enrolled nurses and other health care workers.
Prospects
The number of Registered Nurses (Surgical) grew very strongly over 5 years:
from 3,800 in 2011 to 15,100 in 2016.
Caution: These estimates do not take account of the impact of COVID-19. They may not reflect the current jobs market and should be used and interpreted with caution.
- Size: This is a medium sized occupation.
- Location: Registered Nurses (Surgical) work in many regions of Australia.
- Industries: Most work in the Health Care and Social Assistance industry.
- Full-time: Around half work full-time (49%, less than the average of 66%), showing there are many opportunities to work part-time.
- Hours: Full-time workers spend around 41 hours per week at work (compared to the average of 44 hours).
- Age: The average age is 38 years (compared to the average of 40 years).
- Gender: 92% of workers are female (compared to the average of 48%).
Main Industries
Source: Based on ABS Census 2016, Customised Report. Industries are based on the Australian and New Zealand Standard Industrial Classification (ANZSIC 06).
States and Territories
NSW
VIC
QLD
SA
WA
TAS
NT
ACT
Source: Based on ABS Census 2016, Customised Report. Share of workers across Australian States and Territories, in this job compared to the all jobs average.
Age Profile
Source: Based on ABS Census 2016, Customised Report. Age profile of workers in this job compared to the all jobs average.
Education Level
Source: ABS Census 2016, Customised Report. Highest qualification completed by workers in this job (in any field of study). Qualifications needed by new workers might be different from the qualifications of workers already in the job.
Pathways
You usually need a bachelor degree in nursing and specialist experience to work as a Registered Nurse (Surgical).
Registration with the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia is required.
Before starting a course, check it will provide you with the skills and qualifications you need. Visit
- Course Seeker to search and compare higher education courses.
- ComparED to compare undergraduate and postgraduate student experiences and outcomes.
Skills & Knowledge
Employers look for Registered Nurses who are caring, empathetic, reliable, with strong communication and interpersonal skills.
Filter Skills & Knowledge
Knowledge
These are important topics, subjects or knowledge areas.
-
Medicine and dentistry
Diagnose and treat human injuries, diseases, and deformities, including preventive health-care measures.
-
Customer and personal service
Understanding customer needs, providing good quality service, and measuring customer satisfaction.
-
Education and training
Curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
-
Biology
Plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, how they rely on and work with each other and the environment.
-
Psychology
Human behaviour; differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; research methods; assessing and treating disorders.
-
English language
English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
-
Computers and electronics
Circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
-
Therapy and counselling
Diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of physical and mental dysfunctions, and career counselling and guidance.
-
Chemistry
Chemical composition, structure, and properties. How chemicals are made, used, mixed, and can change.
-
Mathematics
Arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, or statistics.
-
Mechanical
Machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.
-
Administration and management
Business principles involved in strategic planning, leadership, and coordinating people and resources.
-
Public safety and security
Use of equipment, rules and ideas to protect people, data, property, and institutions.
-
Communications and media
Media production, communication, and dissemination. Includes written, spoken, and visual media.
-
Physics
The physical laws of matter, motion and energy, and how they interact through space and time.
-
Sociology and anthropology
Group behaviour and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures and their history and origins.
-
Production and processing
Raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and ways of making and distributing goods.
-
Engineering and technology
Use engineering, science and technology to design and produce goods and services.
-
Clerical
Word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and other office work.
-
Law and government
How our laws and courts work. Government rules and regulations, and the political system.
Skills
Skills can be improved through training or experience.
-
Reading comprehension
Reading work related information.
-
Active listening
Listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions.
-
Speaking
Talking to others.
-
Critical thinking
Thinking about the pros and cons of different ways to solve a problem.
-
Monitoring
Keeping track of how well work is progressing so you can make changes or improvements.
-
Operation monitoring
Watching gauges, dials, or other indicators to make sure a machine is working properly.
-
Social perceptiveness
Understanding why people react the way they do.
-
Writing
Writing things for co-workers or customers.
-
Coordination with others
Being adaptable and coordinating work with other people.
-
Serving others
Looking for ways to help people.
-
Complex problem solving
Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it.
-
Active learning
Being able to use what you have learnt to solve problems now and again in the future.
-
Judgment and decision making
Figuring out the pros and cons of different options and choosing the best one.
-
Learning strategies
Figuring out the best way to teach or learn something new.
-
Operation and control
Controlling equipment or systems.
-
Systems analysis
Figuring out how a system should work and how changes in conditions, operations, and the environment will affect it.
-
Time management
Managing your own and other peoples' time to get work done.
-
Negotiation
Bringing people together and trying to sort out their differences.
-
Persuasion
Talking people into changing their minds or their behaviour.
-
Quality control analysis
Doing tests and checking products, services, or processes to make sure they are working properly.
Abilities
Workers use these physical and mental abilities.
-
Near vision
See details that are up-close (within a few feet).
-
Finger dexterity
Put together small parts with your fingers.
-
Arm-hand steadiness
Keep your hand or arm steady.
-
Oral comprehension
Listen to and understand what people say.
-
Oral expression
Communicate by speaking.
-
Problem spotting
Notice when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong, even if you can't solve the problem.
-
Colour discrimination
Notice differences between colours, including shades of colour and brightness.
-
Speech clarity
Speak clearly so others can understand you.
-
Written comprehension
Read and understand written information.
-
Control precision
Quickly change the controls of a machine, car, truck or boat.
-
Deductive reasoning
Use general rules to find answers or solve problems logically.
-
Inductive reasoning
Use lots of detailed information to come up with answers or make general rules.
-
Manual dexterity
Quickly move your hand to grasp, manipulate, or assemble objects.
-
Speech recognition
Identify and understand the speech of another person.
-
Perceptual speed
Use your eyes to quickly compare groups of letters, numbers, pictures, or other things.
-
Selective attention
Pay attention to something without being distracted.
-
Sorting or ordering
Order or arrange things in a pattern or sequence (e.g., numbers, letters, words, pictures, mathematical operations).
-
Flexibility of closure
See a pattern (a figure, object, word, or sound) hidden in other distracting material.
-
Hearing sensitivity
Tell the difference between sounds.
-
Multilimb coordination
Use your arms and/or legs at the same time while sitting, standing, or lying down.
Activities
These are kinds of activities workers regularly do in this job.
-
Helping and caring for others
Providing personal assistance, medical attention, or emotional support.
-
Monitoring people, processes and things
Checking objects, actions, or events, and keeping an eye out for problems.
-
Handling and moving objects
Using hands and arms in handling, installing, positioning, moving and manipulating objects.
-
Looking for changes over time
Comparing objects, actions, or events. Looking for differences between them or changes over time.
-
Keeping your knowledge up-to-date
Keeping up-to-date with technology and new ideas.
-
Building good relationships
Building good working relationships and keeping them over time.
-
Making decisions and solving problems
Using information to work out the best solution and solve problems.
-
Checking for errors or defects
Inspecting equipment, structures, or materials for errors, problems or defects.
-
Communicating within a team
Giving information to co-workers by telephone, in writing, or in person.
-
Doing physically active work
Use your arms, legs and whole body, such as climbing, lifting, balancing, walking, stooping, and handling objects.
-
Planning and prioritising work
Deciding on goals and putting together a detailed plan to get the work done.
-
Working with the public
Greeting or serving customers, clients or guests, and public speaking or performing.
-
Checking compliance with standards
Deciding whether events or processes comply with laws, regulations, or standards.
-
Assessing and evaluating things
Working out the value, importance, or quality of things, services or people.
-
Researching and investigating
Looking for, getting and understanding different kinds of information.
-
Training and teaching others
Understanding the needs of others, developing training programs, and teaching or instructing.
-
Controlling equipment or machines
Operating machines or processes either directly or using controls (not including computers or vehicles).
-
Collecting and organising information
Compiling, coding, categorizing, calculating, tabulating, auditing, or checking information or data.
-
Documenting or recording information
Entering, transcribing, recording, storing, or maintaining information in written or electronic/magnetic form.
-
Explaining things to people
Helping people to understand and use information.

O*NET is a trademark of the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration.
The skills and importance ratings on this page are derived from the US Department of Labor O*NET Database Version 21.2, 29-2099.07 - Surgical Assistants.
Work Environment
Learn about the daily activities, and physical and social demands faced by workers. Explore the values and work styles that workers rate as most important.
Filter Work Environment
Demands
The physical and social demands workers face most often are shown below.
-
Wear common protective or safety equipment
Wear equipment like safety shoes, glasses, gloves, hard hats or life jackets.
-
Indoors, heat controlled
Work indoors with access to heating or cooling.
-
Physically close to people
Work physically close to other people.
-
Contact with people
Have contact with people by telephone, face-to-face, or any other way.
-
Teamwork
Work with people in a group or team.
-
Being exact or accurate
Be very exact or highly accurate.
-
Using your hands to handle, control, or feel
Spend time using your hands to handle, control, or feel objects, tools or controls.
-
Disease or infection
Be exposed to disease or infections.
-
Face-to-face discussions
Talk with people face-to-face.
-
Spend time standing
Spend time standing at work.
-
Consequence of error
Work where mistakes have serious consequences.
-
Lead or coordinate a team
Lead others to do work activities.
-
Electronic mail
Use electronic mail.
-
Unstructured work
Have freedom to decide on tasks, priorities, and goals.
-
Contact with the public
Work with customers or the public.
-
Health and safety of others
Take responsibility for the health and safety of others.
-
Responsible for outcomes
Take responsibility for the results of other people's work.
-
Dangerous conditions
Work near dangers like high voltage electricity, flammable material, explosives or chemicals.
-
Exposure to contaminants
Be exposed to pollutants, gases, dust or odours.
-
Telephone
Talk on the telephone.
Values
Work values are important to a person’s feeling of satisfaction. All six values are shown below.
-
Relationships
Serve and work with others. Workers usually get along well with each other, do things to help other people, and are rarely pressured to do things that go against their sense of right and wrong.
-
Achievement
Results oriented. Workers are able to use their strongest abilities, giving them a feeling of accomplishment.
-
Recognition
Advancement and the potential to lead. Workers are recognised for the work that they do, they may give directions and instructions to others, and they are looked up to in their company and their community.
-
Support
Supportive management that stands behind employees. Workers are treated fairly by their company, they are supported by management, and have supervisors who train them well.
-
Working conditions
Job security and good working conditions. There is usually a steady flow of interesting work, and the pay and conditions are generally good.
-
Independence
Work alone and make decisions. Workers are able to try out their own ideas, make decisions on their own, and work with little or no supervision.
Interests
Interests are the style or type of work we prefer to do. All interest areas are shown below.
-
Administrative
Following set procedures and routines. Working with numbers and details more than with ideas, usually following rules.
-
Helping
Working with people. Helping or providing service to others.
-
Practical
Practical, hands-on work. Often with plants and animals, or materials like wood, tools, and machinery.
-
Analytical
Ideas and thinking. Searching for facts and figuring out problems in your head.
-
Enterprising
Starting up and carrying out projects. Leading people and making many decisions. Sometimes require risk taking and often deal with business.
-
Creative
Working with forms, designs and patterns. Often need self-expression and can be done without following rules.

O*NET is a trademark of the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration.
The skills and importance ratings on this page are derived from the US Department of Labor O*NET Database Version 21.2, 29-2099.07 - Surgical Assistants.
All Registered Nurses
-
$1,909 Weekly Pay
-
Very strong Future Growth
Registered Nurses (Surgical)
-
15,100 workers Employment Size
-
Very high skill Skill level rating
-
49% Full-Time Full-Time Share
-
41 hours Average full-time
-
38 years Average age
-
92% female Gender Share
Registered Nurses (Surgical) provide nursing care to patients with injuries and illness that require surgical intervention.
You usually need a bachelor degree in nursing and specialist experience to work as a Registered Nurse (Surgical).
Tasks
- Assesses, plans, implements and evaluates nursing care for patients according to accepted nursing practice and standards.
- Works in consultation with other health professionals and members of health teams, and co-ordinating the care of patients.
- Provides interventions, treatments and therapies such as medications, and monitors responses to treatment and care plans.
- Promotes health and assists in preventing ill health by participating in health education and other health promotion activities.
- Answers questions and providing information to patients and families about treatment and care.
- Supervises and co-ordinates the work of enrolled nurses and other health care workers.
The number of Registered Nurses (Surgical) grew very strongly over 5 years:
from 3,800 in 2011 to 15,100 in 2016.
Caution: These estimates do not take account of the impact of COVID-19. They may not reflect the current jobs market and should be used and interpreted with caution.
- Size: This is a medium sized occupation.
- Location: Registered Nurses (Surgical) work in many regions of Australia.
- Industries: Most work in the Health Care and Social Assistance industry.
- Full-time: Around half work full-time (49%, less than the average of 66%), showing there are many opportunities to work part-time.
- Hours: Full-time workers spend around 41 hours per week at work (compared to the average of 44 hours).
- Age: The average age is 38 years (compared to the average of 40 years).
- Gender: 92% of workers are female (compared to the average of 48%).
Main Industries
Source: Based on ABS Census 2016, Customised Report. Industries are based on the Australian and New Zealand Standard Industrial Classification (ANZSIC 06).
States and Territories
NSW
VIC
QLD
SA
WA
TAS
NT
ACT
Source: Based on ABS Census 2016, Customised Report. Share of workers across Australian States and Territories, in this job compared to the all jobs average.
Age Profile
Source: Based on ABS Census 2016, Customised Report. Age profile of workers in this job compared to the all jobs average.
Education Level
Source: ABS Census 2016, Customised Report. Highest qualification completed by workers in this job (in any field of study). Qualifications needed by new workers might be different from the qualifications of workers already in the job.
You usually need a bachelor degree in nursing and specialist experience to work as a Registered Nurse (Surgical).
Registration with the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia is required.
Before starting a course, check it will provide you with the skills and qualifications you need. Visit
- Course Seeker to search and compare higher education courses.
- ComparED to compare undergraduate and postgraduate student experiences and outcomes.
Employers look for Registered Nurses who are caring, empathetic, reliable, with strong communication and interpersonal skills.
Filter Skills & Knowledge
Knowledge
These are important topics, subjects or knowledge areas.
-
Medicine and dentistry
Diagnose and treat human injuries, diseases, and deformities, including preventive health-care measures.
-
Customer and personal service
Understanding customer needs, providing good quality service, and measuring customer satisfaction.
-
Education and training
Curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
-
Biology
Plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, how they rely on and work with each other and the environment.
-
Psychology
Human behaviour; differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; research methods; assessing and treating disorders.
-
English language
English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
-
Computers and electronics
Circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
-
Therapy and counselling
Diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of physical and mental dysfunctions, and career counselling and guidance.
-
Chemistry
Chemical composition, structure, and properties. How chemicals are made, used, mixed, and can change.
-
Mathematics
Arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, or statistics.
-
Mechanical
Machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.
-
Administration and management
Business principles involved in strategic planning, leadership, and coordinating people and resources.
-
Public safety and security
Use of equipment, rules and ideas to protect people, data, property, and institutions.
-
Communications and media
Media production, communication, and dissemination. Includes written, spoken, and visual media.
-
Physics
The physical laws of matter, motion and energy, and how they interact through space and time.
-
Sociology and anthropology
Group behaviour and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures and their history and origins.
-
Production and processing
Raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and ways of making and distributing goods.
-
Engineering and technology
Use engineering, science and technology to design and produce goods and services.
-
Clerical
Word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and other office work.
-
Law and government
How our laws and courts work. Government rules and regulations, and the political system.
Skills
Skills can be improved through training or experience.
-
Reading comprehension
Reading work related information.
-
Active listening
Listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions.
-
Speaking
Talking to others.
-
Critical thinking
Thinking about the pros and cons of different ways to solve a problem.
-
Monitoring
Keeping track of how well work is progressing so you can make changes or improvements.
-
Operation monitoring
Watching gauges, dials, or other indicators to make sure a machine is working properly.
-
Social perceptiveness
Understanding why people react the way they do.
-
Writing
Writing things for co-workers or customers.
-
Coordination with others
Being adaptable and coordinating work with other people.
-
Serving others
Looking for ways to help people.
-
Complex problem solving
Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it.
-
Active learning
Being able to use what you have learnt to solve problems now and again in the future.
-
Judgment and decision making
Figuring out the pros and cons of different options and choosing the best one.
-
Learning strategies
Figuring out the best way to teach or learn something new.
-
Operation and control
Controlling equipment or systems.
-
Systems analysis
Figuring out how a system should work and how changes in conditions, operations, and the environment will affect it.
-
Time management
Managing your own and other peoples' time to get work done.
-
Negotiation
Bringing people together and trying to sort out their differences.
-
Persuasion
Talking people into changing their minds or their behaviour.
-
Quality control analysis
Doing tests and checking products, services, or processes to make sure they are working properly.
Abilities
Workers use these physical and mental abilities.
-
Near vision
See details that are up-close (within a few feet).
-
Finger dexterity
Put together small parts with your fingers.
-
Arm-hand steadiness
Keep your hand or arm steady.
-
Oral comprehension
Listen to and understand what people say.
-
Oral expression
Communicate by speaking.
-
Problem spotting
Notice when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong, even if you can't solve the problem.
-
Colour discrimination
Notice differences between colours, including shades of colour and brightness.
-
Speech clarity
Speak clearly so others can understand you.
-
Written comprehension
Read and understand written information.
-
Control precision
Quickly change the controls of a machine, car, truck or boat.
-
Deductive reasoning
Use general rules to find answers or solve problems logically.
-
Inductive reasoning
Use lots of detailed information to come up with answers or make general rules.
-
Manual dexterity
Quickly move your hand to grasp, manipulate, or assemble objects.
-
Speech recognition
Identify and understand the speech of another person.
-
Perceptual speed
Use your eyes to quickly compare groups of letters, numbers, pictures, or other things.
-
Selective attention
Pay attention to something without being distracted.
-
Sorting or ordering
Order or arrange things in a pattern or sequence (e.g., numbers, letters, words, pictures, mathematical operations).
-
Flexibility of closure
See a pattern (a figure, object, word, or sound) hidden in other distracting material.
-
Hearing sensitivity
Tell the difference between sounds.
-
Multilimb coordination
Use your arms and/or legs at the same time while sitting, standing, or lying down.
Activities
These are kinds of activities workers regularly do in this job.
-
Helping and caring for others
Providing personal assistance, medical attention, or emotional support.
-
Monitoring people, processes and things
Checking objects, actions, or events, and keeping an eye out for problems.
-
Handling and moving objects
Using hands and arms in handling, installing, positioning, moving and manipulating objects.
-
Looking for changes over time
Comparing objects, actions, or events. Looking for differences between them or changes over time.
-
Keeping your knowledge up-to-date
Keeping up-to-date with technology and new ideas.
-
Building good relationships
Building good working relationships and keeping them over time.
-
Making decisions and solving problems
Using information to work out the best solution and solve problems.
-
Checking for errors or defects
Inspecting equipment, structures, or materials for errors, problems or defects.
-
Communicating within a team
Giving information to co-workers by telephone, in writing, or in person.
-
Doing physically active work
Use your arms, legs and whole body, such as climbing, lifting, balancing, walking, stooping, and handling objects.
-
Planning and prioritising work
Deciding on goals and putting together a detailed plan to get the work done.
-
Working with the public
Greeting or serving customers, clients or guests, and public speaking or performing.
-
Checking compliance with standards
Deciding whether events or processes comply with laws, regulations, or standards.
-
Assessing and evaluating things
Working out the value, importance, or quality of things, services or people.
-
Researching and investigating
Looking for, getting and understanding different kinds of information.
-
Training and teaching others
Understanding the needs of others, developing training programs, and teaching or instructing.
-
Controlling equipment or machines
Operating machines or processes either directly or using controls (not including computers or vehicles).
-
Collecting and organising information
Compiling, coding, categorizing, calculating, tabulating, auditing, or checking information or data.
-
Documenting or recording information
Entering, transcribing, recording, storing, or maintaining information in written or electronic/magnetic form.
-
Explaining things to people
Helping people to understand and use information.

O*NET is a trademark of the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration.
The skills and importance ratings on this page are derived from the US Department of Labor O*NET Database Version 21.2, 29-2099.07 - Surgical Assistants.
Learn about the daily activities, and physical and social demands faced by workers. Explore the values and work styles that workers rate as most important.
Filter Work Environment
Demands
The physical and social demands workers face most often are shown below.
-
Wear common protective or safety equipment
Wear equipment like safety shoes, glasses, gloves, hard hats or life jackets.
-
Indoors, heat controlled
Work indoors with access to heating or cooling.
-
Physically close to people
Work physically close to other people.
-
Contact with people
Have contact with people by telephone, face-to-face, or any other way.
-
Teamwork
Work with people in a group or team.
-
Being exact or accurate
Be very exact or highly accurate.
-
Using your hands to handle, control, or feel
Spend time using your hands to handle, control, or feel objects, tools or controls.
-
Disease or infection
Be exposed to disease or infections.
-
Face-to-face discussions
Talk with people face-to-face.
-
Spend time standing
Spend time standing at work.
-
Consequence of error
Work where mistakes have serious consequences.
-
Lead or coordinate a team
Lead others to do work activities.
-
Electronic mail
Use electronic mail.
-
Unstructured work
Have freedom to decide on tasks, priorities, and goals.
-
Contact with the public
Work with customers or the public.
-
Health and safety of others
Take responsibility for the health and safety of others.
-
Responsible for outcomes
Take responsibility for the results of other people's work.
-
Dangerous conditions
Work near dangers like high voltage electricity, flammable material, explosives or chemicals.
-
Exposure to contaminants
Be exposed to pollutants, gases, dust or odours.
-
Telephone
Talk on the telephone.
Values
Work values are important to a person’s feeling of satisfaction. All six values are shown below.
-
Relationships
Serve and work with others. Workers usually get along well with each other, do things to help other people, and are rarely pressured to do things that go against their sense of right and wrong.
-
Achievement
Results oriented. Workers are able to use their strongest abilities, giving them a feeling of accomplishment.
-
Recognition
Advancement and the potential to lead. Workers are recognised for the work that they do, they may give directions and instructions to others, and they are looked up to in their company and their community.
-
Support
Supportive management that stands behind employees. Workers are treated fairly by their company, they are supported by management, and have supervisors who train them well.
-
Working conditions
Job security and good working conditions. There is usually a steady flow of interesting work, and the pay and conditions are generally good.
-
Independence
Work alone and make decisions. Workers are able to try out their own ideas, make decisions on their own, and work with little or no supervision.
Interests
Interests are the style or type of work we prefer to do. All interest areas are shown below.
-
Administrative
Following set procedures and routines. Working with numbers and details more than with ideas, usually following rules.
-
Helping
Working with people. Helping or providing service to others.
-
Practical
Practical, hands-on work. Often with plants and animals, or materials like wood, tools, and machinery.
-
Analytical
Ideas and thinking. Searching for facts and figuring out problems in your head.
-
Enterprising
Starting up and carrying out projects. Leading people and making many decisions. Sometimes require risk taking and often deal with business.
-
Creative
Working with forms, designs and patterns. Often need self-expression and can be done without following rules.

O*NET is a trademark of the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration.
The skills and importance ratings on this page are derived from the US Department of Labor O*NET Database Version 21.2, 29-2099.07 - Surgical Assistants.