Interview With Amy Burton from ASP and Surgfluencers

John and Kelly welcome surgical first assistant and advocate Amy Burton to discuss pathways into first assisting, the legal and patient-safety risks of “dual rolling” as both first assistant and scrub tech, and why malpractice coverage, documentation, and courtroom scrutiny make it unsafe despite staffing pressures. Amy shares her career shift from banking to CST, early transition into first assisting, independent practice challenges, and later stability with a surgical services group across Texas and Florida, noting differences in certification, licensure, and professional respect. She describes how a retained lap case led to expert witness work and increased advocacy through ASA involvement, social media content, and her role as COO of Surgefluencers to raise awareness of assistants’ value beyond “camera holding.” The conversation covers misconceptions about the role, professionalism, networking, conferences, the need for legislation and certification, and building trust with surgeons through teamwork, humility, and patient-focused leadership. https://www.surgfluencers.com/   / assist_this   https://www.linkedin.com/in/amy-burto... https://www.linkedin.com/company/vyta... https://allstarssurgical.com/ 00:00 Welcome and Guest Intro 00:54 Dual Role Debate 02:13 Legal and Safety Risks 03:43 Understaffing and Boundaries 05:31 Amy’s Career Path 08:56 Advocacy and Social Media 09:57 Expert Witness and Surgefluencers 12:07 Public Awareness and Career Outreach 16:18 Challenges Facing Assistants 18:24 Misconceptions About the Role 24:22 Professionalism and Networking 26:02 Earning Surgeon Trust 31:29 Earning Surgeon Trust 32:43 Quiet Leadership in the OR 35:43 Advocating for Patients 36:55 Humility and Lifelong Learning 39:38 Owning Mistakes Protecting Team 41:06 Future of the Profession 42:44 Legislation and ASA Membership 46:32 Conferences and Continuing Education 52:04 Where to Find Amy 53:46 Final Wrap Up