How to become a surgical assistant
Official title: Surgical assistant
Also called: Registered nurse first surgical assistant, Oral surgical assistant, Operating room nurse, Operating theatre nurse, Theatre nurse
Surgical assistants help surgeons with tasks like sterilising, making or closing surgical incisions and applying dressings.
Main tasks
- Assist surgeons during operations
- Sterilise and prepare surgical equipment
- Operate on patients to treat conditions
- Prepare patients for operations
- Care for patients after operations
- Communicate with caregivers and whānau
- Work with other health professionals
- Monitor medical supplies and surgical equipment
How to become one
You need a qualification to become a surgical assistant and experience may be useful. You need University Entrance to do the study or training for this job. Required: a bachelor's degree in nursing OR a graduate diploma in nursing; to complete the Postgraduate NURSEPRAC 707 Registered Nurse First Surgical Assistant course; an Annual Practising Certificate; to pass a police check. Other requirements: experience in similar work; to pass a medical assessment and drug test. Registration body: Nursing Council of New Zealand.
Ways in
- University: Nursing & Midwifery degrees, Offered by 6 universities in New Zealand
- Registration or licence: To complete the Postgraduate NURSEPRAC 707 Registered Nurse First Surgical Assistant course; an Annual Practising Certificate. Registration body: Nursing Council of New Zealand (https://www.nursingcouncil.org.nz/).
Pay · Past change
- Most common pay: $70,000 to $117,000 a year (median $92,000), a TEC estimate before tax.
- Lower: $52,000 a year · Upper: $139,000 a year
- TEC's pay figures are estimates only. TEC says they must not be used to set pay, in pay negotiations or in visa applications.
- Change in the number of people doing this job between the 2018 and 2023 Censuses: Increase (TEC). This is past change, not a forecast.
Who does this work
- About 1,300 people did this job at the 2023 Census (TEC).
Related jobs
- Public health medicine specialist
- Neurologist
- Obstetrician and gynaecologist
- Oral and maxillofacial surgeon
- Physician associate
- Anaesthetist
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Questions people ask
How do I become a surgical assistant?
You need a qualification to become a surgical assistant and experience may be useful. You need University Entrance to do the study or training for this job. Required: a bachelor's degree in nursing OR a graduate diploma in nursing; to complete the Postgraduate NURSEPRAC 707 Registered Nurse First Surgical Assistant course; an Annual Practising Certificate; to pass a police check. Other requirements: experience in similar work; to pass a medical assessment and drug test. Registration body: Nursing Council of New Zealand.
How much does a surgical assistant earn in New Zealand?
The Tertiary Education Commission estimates median pay at $92,000 a year, before tax. Most common pay is $70,000 to $117,000 a year.
Has the number of people working as a surgical assistant grown in New Zealand?
It has grown: TEC records an increase in the number of people doing this job between the 2018 and 2023 Censuses. This is past change, not a forecast.
Sources
- Tertiary Education Commission (Tahatu Career Navigator): Tahatu career ideas: descriptions, tasks, pay estimates, people employed, employment change 2018 to 2023, entry requirements, registration, interest scores (Site scrape 2026-10 (816 career ideas, sitemap lastmod 2026-10-01)), CC BY 4.0, retrieved 4 October 2026
This content is sourced from the Tertiary Education Commission through the Tahatū Career Navigator website (www.tahatu.govt.nz) and used under the CC BY 4.0 licence. All or some of the information has been modified by Peernovo. TEC has not approved, endorsed or tested these modifications. TEC will not be held accountable for any errors within this content.
Qualification information from NZQA, used under CC BY 3.0 NZ.
This work is based on/includes Stats NZ's data which are licensed by Stats NZ for reuse under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International licence. Census data via Figure.NZ.
Includes information from O*NET OnLine by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. USDOL/ETA has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications.
Sources: Tertiary Education Commission, Tahatū Career Navigator (career ideas, pay estimates, entry requirements and study options, CC BY 4.0, modified by Peernovo); Stats NZ, 2023 Census (via Figure.NZ) and the National Occupation List (CC BY 4.0); NZQA qualification information (CC BY 3.0 NZ); O*NET interest scores (CC BY 4.0); ILO global generative AI exposure index (CC BY 4.0). Links between career ideas and ANZSCO groups, degree fields and broad job groups are Peernovo's.
These results are not official statistics. They have been created for research purposes from the Integrated Data Infrastructure (IDI), which is carefully managed by Stats NZ.
Graduate outcomes: these results are not official statistics. They have been created for research purposes from the Integrated Data Infrastructure (IDI), which is carefully managed by Stats NZ.
Updated 4 October 2026