Are flashcards effective for the CSFA?

Yes. Flashcards use active recall — retrieving an answer from memory — which research shows is one of the most effective study methods, especially in short, spaced sessions. Because the CSFA exam rewards instant recognition of suture types, hemostatic agents, energy devices, drugs, and emergencies, the cards are an efficient way to make that knowledge automatic.

What topics do the CSFA flashcards cover?

All three scored domains: Perioperative Care (aseptic technique, retraction and counter-traction, hemostasis, ligatures, suture selection, wound closure), Ancillary Duties (monopolar vs bipolar electrosurgery, surgical smoke, OR fire safety, negligence and respondeat superior), and Advanced Science (malignant hyperthermia, the four types of shock, pharmacology, pathology, microbiology, and wound healing).

How is the CSFA different from the CST?

Both are NBSTSA credentials, but the CST is the scrub role (sterile setup, instruments, counts, specimens) and the CSFA is the advanced first-assistant role (exposure, hemostasis, tissue handling, and wound closure). These flashcards focus on first-assistant content; if you're studying the scrub role, use our CST flashcards instead.

Are the CSFA flashcards free?

Yes — 100% free, all four study modes, no paywall.

Do these flashcards match the current CSFA content outline?

Yes. The cards are organized to the 2024 NBSTSA CSFA Examination Content Outline's three scored domains and reflect current surgical standards — aseptic technique, hemostasis and suturing, electrosurgical safety, malignant hyperthermia management, and the classification of shock.

Certified Surgical First Assistant — the NBSTSA's advanced first-assistant credential, distinct from the CST scrub-role credential.

The set of practices that keep the surgical field free of pathogenic microorganisms; the governing rule is that sterile touches only sterile.

Surgical hand scrub direction

Scrub from the fingertips toward the elbow so the hands stay the cleanest area; afterward hold hands and forearms above the waist and in sight.

Self-gloving in which the hands stay inside the gown cuffs until the gloves are pulled over them, keeping the sterile gown sterile.

Sterile zone of a gown

A scrubbed person is sterile only from the chest down to the level of the sterile field (table top); the axillae and gown back are not sterile.

Contamination that occurs when moisture wicks through a sterile drape or gown, breaching the sterile barrier.

The honesty and discipline to recognize and correct any break in sterile technique — even when unobserved — because patient safety depends on it.

Edge of a sterile drape

The outer ~1 inch (about 2.5 cm) of a sterile drape or wrapper is considered nonsterile, a boundary that must not be crossed.

Holding tissue or organs out of the operative field to give the surgeon clear exposure — the first assistant's defining duty.

Traction and counter-traction

Opposing forces applied to tissue to create even tension, opening the anatomic plane so the surgeon can dissect sharply along the correct plane.

Gentle tissue handling, strict asepsis, sharp dissection, careful hemostasis, preserved blood supply, no dead space, and no tension.

Cutting tissue with a scalpel or scissors along an anatomic plane, as opposed to blunt dissection, which separates tissue by tearing or spreading.

Vein retractor / nerve hook

A fine, atraumatic retractor chosen for small, delicate structures that would be injured by a larger instrument.

Control of bleeding by mechanical, thermal, or chemical means — the first assistant's central role in keeping a dry, visible field.

Mechanical hemostasis

Physically occluding a vessel: direct pressure, hemostatic clamps, ligatures, vessel loops, surgical clips, bone wax, and the pneumatic tourniquet.

Chemical (topical) hemostatic agents

Agents that promote clotting: gelatin (Gelfoam), oxidized cellulose (Surgicel), microfibrillar collagen (Avitene), thrombin, and fibrin sealant.

A single strand of suture looped and tied around a clamped vessel to occlude it; can slip off a large, pulsating vessel.

Suture ligature (stick tie)

Suture on a needle passed through a large vessel's wall and tied, anchoring the ligature so it cannot slip off.

A thin silicone band passed around a vessel; doubled and snugged it can temporarily occlude blood flow or simply isolate the vessel.

Microfibrillar collagen

A topical hemostatic agent that works by providing a surface that triggers platelet aggregation.

A mechanical hemostatic agent smeared onto cut bone surfaces to physically occlude bleeding from the bone.

An inflatable cuff that occludes arterial flow to a limb for a bloodless field; the limb is usually exsanguinated first, and prep must not pool beneath it.

Suture broken down by the body over time (gut, polyglactin/Vicryl, poliglecaprone/Monocryl, PDS); for deep layers and ligation needing only temporary support.

Non-absorbable suture

Suture that retains strength long-term (silk, nylon, polypropylene/Prolene, steel); for skin, tendon, anastomoses, and permanent implants.

A single-strand suture with low tissue drag that resists harboring bacteria but handles stiffer (nylon, polypropylene, PDS).

Multifilament (braided) suture

Many strands braided together; handles and ties easily with good knot security, but interstices can wick fluid and harbor bacteria (silk, braided polyester, Vicryl).

Individually placed and knotted stitches; if one fails, the rest of the closure holds — more secure than a continuous suture.

Continuous (running) suture

A single strand sewn down the wound; fast and tension-distributing, but a single break can loosen the whole line.

Placing each bite at equal depth on both sides of a wound so the edges approximate evenly.

Wound closure tension

Excessive tension is avoided because it compromises blood supply to the wound edges and impairs healing.

Skin staples are removed postoperatively with a dedicated staple extractor (remover), not a clamp.

A device that evacuates fluid or air from a wound; where it exits the skin the first assistant typically secures it with a suture.

Negative pressure wound therapy (NPWT)

Vacuum-assisted closure using foam under suction to promote healing; the foam dressing is changed on a scheduled interval (commonly every 2–3 days).

Radiopaque marker in sponges

Surgical sponges used in a body cavity contain a radiopaque marker so a retained sponge can be found on X-ray.

Site marking & Time Out

Marking the surgical site and confirming it during the Time Out helps prevent wrong-site surgery.

Local anesthetic infiltration

Injecting a local anesthetic into the wound margins, often before closure, to provide postoperative pain control at the incision.

Epinephrine with local anesthetic

Added for vasoconstriction, which prolongs the anesthetic effect and reduces bleeding; avoided in digits, nose, ears, and other end-arterial structures.

Wearing two pairs of gloves, commonly practiced by the first assistant to reduce the risk of exposure if the outer glove is punctured.

Healing by primary intention

A clean wound whose edges are approximated and held together, healing quickly with minimal scarring.

Lithotomy positioning

When moving a patient to lithotomy, both legs are raised and lowered together to protect the hips and prevent injury.

Dispersive (return) electrode placement

The grounding pad is applied over well-perfused muscle rather than a bony prominence to prevent return-electrode burns.

Drape with a small tear

A drape found to have a hole or tear after application is contaminated and must be covered or re-draped, not used as is.

Informed consent verification

Confirming the signed consent lists the correct patient, procedure, and site before the procedure begins.

Exsanguination before tourniquet

Draining blood from a limb (often with an Esmarch bandage) before inflating a pneumatic tourniquet to create a bloodless field.

Your FREE CSFA Flashcards 2026 – 100+ Cards

Realistic, CSFA exam-style flashcards across all NBSTSA first assistant content domains — flip, match, type, and quiz yourself.

How well do you know them?

CSFA Flashcards

Surgical first assistant: A qualified surgical professional who, under the surgeon's direction, provides exposure, hemostasis, tissue handling, and wound closure — without making independent surgical decisions.
CSFA: Certified Surgical First Assistant — the NBSTSA's advanced first-assistant credential, distinct from the CST scrub-role credential.
Aseptic technique: The set of practices that keep the surgical field free of pathogenic microorganisms; the governing rule is that sterile touches only sterile.
Surgical hand scrub direction: Scrub from the fingertips toward the elbow so the hands stay the cleanest area; afterward hold hands and forearms above the waist and in sight.
Closed gloving: Self-gloving in which the hands stay inside the gown cuffs until the gloves are pulled over them, keeping the sterile gown sterile.
Sterile zone of a gown: A scrubbed person is sterile only from the chest down to the level of the sterile field (table top); the axillae and gown back are not sterile.
Strike-through: Contamination that occurs when moisture wicks through a sterile drape or gown, breaching the sterile barrier.
Surgical conscience: The honesty and discipline to recognize and correct any break in sterile technique — even when unobserved — because patient safety depends on it.
Edge of a sterile drape: The outer ~1 inch (about 2.5 cm) of a sterile drape or wrapper is considered nonsterile, a boundary that must not be crossed.
Retraction: Holding tissue or organs out of the operative field to give the surgeon clear exposure — the first assistant's defining duty.
Traction and counter-traction: Opposing forces applied to tissue to create even tension, opening the anatomic plane so the surgeon can dissect sharply along the correct plane.
Halsted's principles: Gentle tissue handling, strict asepsis, sharp dissection, careful hemostasis, preserved blood supply, no dead space, and no tension.
Sharp dissection: Cutting tissue with a scalpel or scissors along an anatomic plane, as opposed to blunt dissection, which separates tissue by tearing or spreading.
Vein retractor / nerve hook: A fine, atraumatic retractor chosen for small, delicate structures that would be injured by a larger instrument.
Hemostasis: Control of bleeding by mechanical, thermal, or chemical means — the first assistant's central role in keeping a dry, visible field.
Mechanical hemostasis: Physically occluding a vessel: direct pressure, hemostatic clamps, ligatures, vessel loops, surgical clips, bone wax, and the pneumatic tourniquet.
Chemical (topical) hemostatic agents: Agents that promote clotting: gelatin (Gelfoam), oxidized cellulose (Surgicel), microfibrillar collagen (Avitene), thrombin, and fibrin sealant.
Free tie: A single strand of suture looped and tied around a clamped vessel to occlude it; can slip off a large, pulsating vessel.
Suture ligature (stick tie): Suture on a needle passed through a large vessel's wall and tied, anchoring the ligature so it cannot slip off.
Vessel loop: A thin silicone band passed around a vessel; doubled and snugged it can temporarily occlude blood flow or simply isolate the vessel.
Microfibrillar collagen: A topical hemostatic agent that works by providing a surface that triggers platelet aggregation.
Bone wax: A mechanical hemostatic agent smeared onto cut bone surfaces to physically occlude bleeding from the bone.
Pneumatic tourniquet: An inflatable cuff that occludes arterial flow to a limb for a bloodless field; the limb is usually exsanguinated first, and prep must not pool beneath it.
Absorbable suture: Suture broken down by the body over time (gut, polyglactin/Vicryl, poliglecaprone/Monocryl, PDS); for deep layers and ligation needing only temporary support.
Non-absorbable suture: Suture that retains strength long-term (silk, nylon, polypropylene/Prolene, steel); for skin, tendon, anastomoses, and permanent implants.
Monofilament suture: A single-strand suture with low tissue drag that resists harboring bacteria but handles stiffer (nylon, polypropylene, PDS).
Multifilament (braided) suture: Many strands braided together; handles and ties easily with good knot security, but interstices can wick fluid and harbor bacteria (silk, braided polyester, Vicryl).
Interrupted suture: Individually placed and knotted stitches; if one fails, the rest of the closure holds — more secure than a continuous suture.
Continuous (running) suture: A single strand sewn down the wound; fast and tension-distributing, but a single break can loosen the whole line.
Equal suture bites: Placing each bite at equal depth on both sides of a wound so the edges approximate evenly.
Wound closure tension: Excessive tension is avoided because it compromises blood supply to the wound edges and impairs healing.
Skin staple removal: Skin staples are removed postoperatively with a dedicated staple extractor (remover), not a clamp.
Surgical drain: A device that evacuates fluid or air from a wound; where it exits the skin the first assistant typically secures it with a suture.
Negative pressure wound therapy (NPWT): Vacuum-assisted closure using foam under suction to promote healing; the foam dressing is changed on a scheduled interval (commonly every 2–3 days).
Radiopaque marker in sponges: Surgical sponges used in a body cavity contain a radiopaque marker so a retained sponge can be found on X-ray.
Site marking & Time Out: Marking the surgical site and confirming it during the Time Out helps prevent wrong-site surgery.
Local anesthetic infiltration: Injecting a local anesthetic into the wound margins, often before closure, to provide postoperative pain control at the incision.
Epinephrine with local anesthetic: Added for vasoconstriction, which prolongs the anesthetic effect and reduces bleeding; avoided in digits, nose, ears, and other end-arterial structures.
Double gloving: Wearing two pairs of gloves, commonly practiced by the first assistant to reduce the risk of exposure if the outer glove is punctured.
Healing by primary intention: A clean wound whose edges are approximated and held together, healing quickly with minimal scarring.
Lithotomy positioning: When moving a patient to lithotomy, both legs are raised and lowered together to protect the hips and prevent injury.
Dispersive (return) electrode placement: The grounding pad is applied over well-perfused muscle rather than a bony prominence to prevent return-electrode burns.
Drape with a small tear: A drape found to have a hole or tear after application is contaminated and must be covered or re-draped, not used as is.
Informed consent verification: Confirming the signed consent lists the correct patient, procedure, and site before the procedure begins.
Exsanguination before tourniquet: Draining blood from a limb (often with an Esmarch bandage) before inflating a pneumatic tourniquet to create a bloodless field.
Halsted-style tissue handling: Gentle, atraumatic handling that minimizes tissue injury, preserves blood supply, and promotes faster, complication-free healing.
Surgical clips (ligating clips): Small metal or polymer clips applied to occlude a vessel quickly when a tie would be slower or harder to place.
Sterile field at rest: An unattended, uncovered, or out-of-sight sterile field is considered contaminated.
Skin antiseptic motion: Antiseptic prep is applied starting at the incision and moving outward in expanding circles, clean to dirty, without returning a used sponge to the center.
Surgical first assistant scope: The CSFA assists under the surgeon's direction and does not make independent surgical decisions or perform the surgeon's role.
Electrosurgery: Passing high-frequency current through the patient's tissue to cut or coagulate; the tissue completes the circuit.
Electrocautery: Heating a wire element directly with current that does NOT pass through the patient; the hot wire transfers heat to tissue.
Monopolar electrosurgery: Current flows from the active electrode through the patient to a dispersive return pad and back to the generator; a return electrode is required.
Bipolar electrosurgery: Current flows only between the two tips of the instrument, so no patient return pad is needed and the path is small and localized.
Fulguration: A monopolar coagulation technique that sparks the electrode across a gap to char and coagulate a broad tissue surface.
Cut vs. coagulation waveform: The cut mode uses a continuous low-voltage waveform for cleaner cutting; coagulation uses an interrupted higher-voltage waveform; blend combines cutting with hemostasis.
Advanced bipolar vessel sealer: A device that uses pressure and bipolar energy with impedance feedback to fuse vessel walls into a permanent seal, often up to a rated diameter.
Ultrasonic (harmonic) device: An energy device that uses high-frequency mechanical vibration to cut and coagulate tissue with little lateral thermal spread.
Isolated electrosurgical generator: A generator that references current to itself rather than ground, largely replacing older ground-referenced units to reduce alternate-site burns.
Surgical smoke (plume): Vaporized mixture of fine particulates, chemicals, and possibly viable cells released when energy thermally destroys tissue — a respiratory and biological hazard.
Smoke evacuator placement: Hold the evacuator wand close to the source (within about 2 cm) to capture plume effectively, with in-line filtration.
Plume biological hazard: Surgical plume from some lesions can carry viable viral particles (e.g., HPV DNA), adding a biological risk beyond the chemical one.
Negligence: An unintentional tort — harm resulting from failing to act as a reasonably prudent professional would.
Four elements of negligence: Duty, breach of that duty, causation, and damages — all four must be proven, or the claim fails.
Respondeat superior: A doctrine holding an employer liable for an employee's negligent acts within the scope of employment; the individual remains personally accountable.
Patient confidentiality: A legal and ethical duty of the first assistant; breaching it violates patient privacy obligations and exposes the assistant to liability.
Consent verification (legal): From a legal standpoint, the assistant verifies the consent form lists the correct patient, procedure, and site and is properly signed.
Fire triangle in the OR: An OR fire needs an ignition source (electrosurgery, laser), fuel (drapes, prep, gauze), and an oxidizer (oxygen, nitrous oxide).
OR oxidizer hazard: Supplemental oxygen and nitrous oxide accumulating beneath the drapes create the oxidizer-enriched atmosphere that makes OR fires especially dangerous.
PASS (fire extinguisher): Pull the pin, Aim at the base of the fire, Squeeze the handle, and Sweep side to side.
Alcohol prep fire prevention: Let alcohol-based prep dry completely before draping or activating energy, because pooled prep is a fire and burn hazard.
Incident command system: The structured command framework a facility activates during an external disaster or mass-casualty event to coordinate the response.
Power failure response: During an intraoperative power failure, the team relies on backup power and stabilizes the patient while maintaining the sterile field and safety.
Laser plume hazard: Smoke from a laser case carries a laser-specific hazard in addition to the chemical and biological risks of surgical plume.
Documenting energy modality: Accurate charting distinguishes electrosurgery (current through tissue) from electrocautery (heated wire) — they are not interchangeable terms.
Standard Precautions: Treating all blood and body fluids as potentially infectious and using appropriate barriers and practices with every patient.
Subject matter expert role: Within Ancillary Duties the CSFA may serve as a technical resource to the surgical team on equipment and assisting technique.
Vessel sealer vs. metal clip: An advanced bipolar vessel sealer is chosen over a metal clip when a durable seal is wanted without leaving a foreign body or interfering with later imaging.
Malignant hyperthermia (MH): A rare, inherited hypermetabolic crisis triggered in susceptible patients by volatile anesthetics or succinylcholine.
Earliest sign of MH: A rapidly rising end-tidal CO₂ (ETCO₂) is the earliest and most sensitive sign; a temperature rise is a late sign.
MH triggers: Volatile inhalational anesthetics (e.g., sevoflurane, isoflurane) and the depolarizing relaxant succinylcholine.
Dantrolene: The specific antidote for malignant hyperthermia; many vials must be reconstituted quickly, so several people mix it at once.
MH inheritance: Susceptibility is largely inherited, so a family history of anesthesia problems is relevant preoperatively.
Masseter rigidity: Generalized muscle rigidity, especially of the masseter (jaw), in a patient given a triggering agent is an early warning of MH.
Shock: Inadequate tissue perfusion; classified as hypovolemic, cardiogenic, distributive, or obstructive.
Hypovolemic shock: Loss of intravascular volume — from hemorrhage or fluid loss — dropping circulating volume; the most common surgical cause is blood loss.
Cardiogenic shock: Pump failure — the heart cannot pump effectively (MI, arrhythmia, heart failure), so cardiac output falls despite adequate volume.
Distributive shock: Massive vasodilation dropping systemic vascular resistance; includes anaphylactic, septic, and neurogenic shock.
Obstructive shock: A mechanical block to blood flow — tension pneumothorax, cardiac tamponade, or massive pulmonary embolism.
Anaphylactic shock: A severe, rapid allergic reaction (distributive shock) with hypotension, hives, and bronchospasm; common triggers are latex and antibiotics; treat with epinephrine.
Septic shock: A form of distributive shock in which infection causes widespread vasodilation and impaired perfusion.
Synergism: A drug-drug interaction in which two medications together produce an effect greater than the sum of their separate effects.
Atropine effects: An anticholinergic; expected effects include a dry mouth and dilated pupils.
Monitored anesthesia care (MAC): Sedation in which the patient breathes spontaneously while an anesthesia provider monitors and titrates the medications.
Diphenhydramine: An antihistamine sometimes given for a mild allergic drug reaction to counter histamine-mediated symptoms.
Topical vs. infiltration anesthesia: Topical anesthesia is applied to a surface (skin or mucosa); infiltration anesthesia is injected into the tissue.
Benign vs. malignant tumor: A benign tumor remains localized and does not invade or metastasize; a malignant tumor invades and can spread.
Carcinoma: A malignant tumor arising from epithelial tissue — the linings and coverings such as skin and organ linings.
Sarcoma: A malignant tumor arising from connective or mesenchymal tissue, such as bone, cartilage, fat, muscle, and blood vessels.
Fistula: An abnormal connection or passage between two structures or organs that are not normally connected.
Peritonitis: Inflammation of the peritoneum, the lining of the abdominal cavity — relevant to abdominal surgery.
Pathologic fracture: A fracture through bone already weakened by disease (e.g., tumor, osteoporosis), sometimes from minimal force — unlike a traumatic fracture.
Osteoporosis: A pathologic loss of bone density that weakens bone and increases fracture risk, raising surgical and positioning concerns.
Deep vs. superficial incisional SSI: A deep incisional surgical site infection involves the fascia and muscle layers; a superficial one involves only skin and subcutaneous tissue.
Aerobic bacteria: Bacteria that require oxygen to grow; thrive in oxygen-rich environments.
Anaerobic bacteria: Bacteria that grow without oxygen and may be harmed by it; favor deep, poorly oxygenated tissue and abscesses.
Fungi vs. bacteria: Fungi such as Candida are eukaryotic (have a true nucleus), unlike bacteria, which are prokaryotic.
Wound healing & tissue oxygenation: Adequate tissue oxygenation is one of the most important local factors in wound healing.
Smoking & wound healing: Nicotine and carbon monoxide cause vasoconstriction and reduced oxygen delivery, impairing healing of the surgical wound.
Pfannenstiel incision: A low transverse abdominal incision often chosen over a vertical midline for a stronger, more cosmetic closure with less herniation.
Open vs. laparoscopic approach: An open procedure may be chosen over laparoscopy for extensive disease, dense adhesions, bleeding, or other complicating conditions.
Metabolic alkalosis from vomiting: Prolonged vomiting and gastric suction lose acid and chloride, putting the patient at risk for metabolic alkalosis and fluid/electrolyte imbalance.
Hypovolemia in surgery: The most common surgical cause of shock — another reason meticulous hemostasis and blood-loss monitoring matter.
Tension pneumothorax: A buildup of air in the pleural space that mechanically blocks venous return, a cause of obstructive shock.
Cardiac tamponade: Fluid in the pericardial sac compressing the heart and limiting filling — a cause of obstructive shock.
Pulmonary embolism (obstructive): A large clot obstructing pulmonary blood flow, which can produce obstructive shock.
Latex anaphylaxis: Latex is a classic intraoperative trigger of anaphylactic (distributive) shock — recognize hypotension with hives quickly.
End-tidal CO₂ (ETCO₂): The CO₂ measured at the end of exhalation; a rapid, unexplained rise is the earliest sign of malignant hyperthermia.
Mesenchymal tissue: Connective tissue of mesodermal origin — bone, cartilage, fat, muscle, and blood vessels — the origin of sarcomas.
Epithelial tissue: The linings and coverings of the body (skin, glands, organ linings) — the origin of carcinomas.

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By Career EmployerUpdated Sep 12, 2026

100+ free CSFA flashcards — 4 ways to study

CSFA Flashcard of the DayNew daily

The classic card. Do you know this one?

Click Study Flashcards above to open the flashcard hub — over a hundred CSFA cards you can flip, match, type, or quiz yourself on. Every card is drawn from the NBSTSA CSFA content domains, so you study exactly what the surgical first assistant exam tests.^[1] Pair them with our free practice test and study guide.

CSFA Flashcard Study Modes

Flip mode moves you through all 120 cards front to back at your own pace. Match is a timed game that pairs terms with their definitions. Type shows you the definition and asks you to key the term back, so a card like Vessel loop has to come from memory rather than recognition. Quiz rebuilds the same cards as multiple choice for fast checks.

Free CSFA flashcards from Career Employer — active recall for the NBSTSA surgical first assistant exam

Why Flashcards Work for the CSFA

Perioperative Care is the biggest block in the deck at 50 cards, and it covers the intraoperative language a surgical first assistant uses in every case. Exposure and tissue handling show up in cards like Retraction, hemostatic technique in Bone wax and Hemostasis, and suture and vessel work in Free tie and Vessel loop. Closing and sterile practice terms round the domain out, with Surgical drain and Double gloving, plus the card for CSFA itself.

Advanced Science follows with 42 cards built on pathology, pharmacology, and the physiology behind surgical crises. Tumor terminology separates Sarcoma from Carcinoma, systemic emergencies appear in Shock and Peritonitis, and malignant hyperthermia is split across MH triggers and Dantrolene so you hold both the cause and the treatment. Drug interaction vocabulary such as Synergism and abnormal anatomy such as Fistula also sit in this group.

Ancillary Duties closes the deck with 28 cards on legal, safety, and equipment responsibilities. Liability language is drilled through Negligence and Respondeat superior, energy devices through Electrosurgery, Electrocautery, and Fulguration, and fire and plume awareness through OR oxidizer hazard and Laser plume hazard. Infection control appears as Standard Precautions. These are the cards that read easily on the first pass and then blur together under quiz pressure, so they reward repetition more than the size of the domain suggests.

The CSFA rewards instant recognition of suture types, hemostatic agents, energy devices, drugs, and surgical emergencies.^[3] Spaced flashcards are the most efficient way to make that knowledge automatic. Used alongside our practice test and study guide, they turn review time into measurable progress.

CSFA Flashcards by Domain

The cards are organized by the three NBSTSA CSFA content domains. Drill the highest-weighted one first — Perioperative Care is more than half the exam:^[1]

CSFA flashcards by domain and scored weight
Domain	Scored items	Weight
Perioperative Care	83 of 150	~55%
Advanced Science	46 of 150	~31%
Ancillary Duties	21 of 150	~14%

Studying the scrub role instead? The CST flashcards cover the Certified Surgical Technologist exam — sterile setup, instruments, counts, and specimens.

How to Get the Most Out of These Flashcards

Start with Perioperative Care. At 50 cards it is the largest domain in the deck and the closest to what you do at the table, so early wins there carry into the other two.
Type-drill the look-alikes. Sarcoma and Carcinoma are easy to recognize and hard to produce, so Type mode makes you write the distinction instead of nodding at it.
Use Match for one-word pathology. Short Advanced Science terms such as Fistula and Peritonitis pair quickly, which makes the timed game a good warm-up before slower card work.
Move to the practice test once recall is clean. When Quiz stops catching you on Ancillary Duties cards like Respondeat superior, switch to full-length questions and use the study guide on gaps.
Rotate rather than cram. Work one domain per sitting across the 120 cards, then end each session with a mixed Quiz so older Perioperative Care terms keep resurfacing.

CSFA Flashcards FAQ

Over a hundred free CSFA flashcards, organized across the NBSTSA first assistant content domains — Perioperative Care, Ancillary Duties, and Advanced Science. They cover exposure and retraction, hemostasis, suturing and closure, electrosurgery, anatomy and pathology, anesthesia, and ethics. They're free with no account required.

References

1.National Board of Surgical Technology and Surgical Assisting (NBSTSA). “Surgical First Assistant Certifying Examination Content Outline (2024).” nbstsa.org. ↑
2.Association of Surgical Technologists (AST). “About Surgical Assisting & Standards of Practice.” ast.org. ↑
3.Malignant Hyperthermia Association of the United States (MHAUS). “Managing an MH Crisis.” mhaus.org. ↑

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