This is what you will be doing
As a surgical assistant at the Wilhelmina Children's Hospital (WKZ), you will be working in one of the largest operating theater complexes for children in Europe. Together, we work every minute of the day to provide the highest quality care for a special group of patients: from the very youngest to young adults. Working as a surgical assistant at the WKZ is challenging and varied. And we would love to have you join us.

This is why you want to work in the operating room at the WKZ:

• Every child is unique, no two operations are the same, and every day is different. That makes our work, and perhaps soon yours too, interesting and valuable.

• The WKZ has its own building. This means you will be working in an academic setting with the atmosphere of a small-scale hospital.

• As a surgical assistant, you can specialize with us, but you can also work in a general capacity and assist with various types of operations. You will be given all kinds of opportunities to develop yourself.

• At the WKZ, we also operate on children from the Princess Máxima Center, the specialist center for pediatric oncology. This collaboration offers you the unique opportunity to gain experience in pediatric oncology.

• You will become part of a close-knit team of enthusiastic and loyal colleagues.

Of course, you don't have to be able to do everything right away. Your fellow surgical assistants will first give you thorough and comprehensive training. Your training program is always tailored to your needs. We make sure of that. 
 
Randy is a surgical assistant at the WKZ and says:"At the WKZ, the lines of communication are short and you end up in a great team that you can rely on. We can turn to each other and share our experiences of traumatic events. In my opinion, that's how a team should be."

Where you will be working
There are three operating room centers at UMC Utrecht. Two for adults at the UMC Utrecht location and one at the Wilhelmina Children's Hospital. You will be working at our operating room complex for children at the WKZ. Here we have eight operating rooms, a cardiac catheterization room, and two hybrid operating rooms, where patients can be examined during surgery using integrated and advanced X-ray equipment. Surgeries are performed in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) to limit the risk of moving newborns.

Working in a children's hospital is special because every child is unique and each surgery is tailor-made. In short, it's a real opportunity for you to deepen your knowledge as a surgical assistant. You will work with the latest medical techniques and innovations. You can also contribute to new developments and further your own development within other specialisms, for example. In our academic hospital, we are constantly learning and innovating.

What you bring to the table
 

Just graduated or have extensive experience? You can start working as a surgical assistant right away!

• You have obtained your CZO diploma in Surgical Nursing, or HBO-VT/GT, or you will soon be completing your training. A combination of working in a nursing ward and the operating room is also possible.

• You are interested in pediatric surgery.

• You are strongly focused on collaboration and achieving optimal results together.

• You enjoy contributing ideas for improvements and innovations.

• You want to develop yourself and are curious about technical applications and innovative operating rooms.