As part of the ARC/STSA Board of Directors ongoing commitment to meeting the needs of all of our communities of interest, a review of policies and procedures impacting ARC/STSA approved Accelerated Alternate Delivery (AAD) Pathway programs was successfully conducted at their Spring 2013 meeting in Asheville, NC, resulting in significant AAD Pathway Policy changes effective August 1, 2013.

Policy Changes

Substantive changes for 2013 have been made to the AAD Pathway Policy expanding the minimum admission eligibility requirements and updating the minimum clinical caseload experience required for AAD pathway applicants:

• AAD Admission Eligibility
  • Any on-the-job trained (OJT) candidate may apply to an ARC/STSA approved AAD pathway program, regardless of when they trained, so long as they meet all other admissions criteria required by the sponsoring institution (school/program)*.
  • The revised policy eliminates a previous enrollment eligibility limitation which restricted OJT candidates to those who trained prior to March 1, 2000.

* The program remains responsible for verifying the OJT applicants’ training as a surgical technologist.

• AAD Minimum Caseload Requirement
  • All AAD pathway applicants must demonstrate completion of the clinical caseload requirement specified in the current edition of the national AST Core Curriculum for Surgical Technology (CCST6e)** on pages 173-175.
  • The revised policy aligns the minimum clinical caseload experience requirement with the current edition of the national Core Curriculum for Surgical Technology, 6th Edition (CCST6e) consistent with the clinical experience requirements for the sponsoring institution’s primary program.

** The program remains responsible for documenting an applicant’s clinical experience consistent with the current edition of the Core Curriculum (CCST6e).

AAD Timeline

In August 2000, the ARC/STSA (formerly the ARC-ST) adopted a new policy launching an approval mechanism for CAAHEP accredited surgical technology programs to provide practicing surgical technologists, graduates from non-CAAHEP accredited programs and on-the-job trained surgical technologists, with an accelerated route by which to establish eligibility to sit for the national Certified Surgical Technologist (CST™) examination administered by the National Board of Surgical Technology and Surgical Assisting (NBSTSA).

Accelerated Alternate Delivery (AAD) pathway programs provided primarily distance education options to current surgical technology practitioners who otherwise would need to attend a traditional program in order to establish eligibility for the NBSTSA’s CST™ examination, which was both cost- and time-prohibitive for the working practitioner.

In 2010, the ARC/STSA updated the Accelerated Alternate Delivery (AAD) Pathway Policy minimum requirements for surgical technology programs in Continuing Accrediation to apply for and be approved to offer the AAD pathway as an enhancement to their already CAAHEP accredited traditional surgical technology program (i.e., primary program).

In 2013, the ARC/STSA Board of Directors, responding to the needs of the practitioner community, revised the eligibility requirements to permit access to an approved AAD pathway program for all OJT working practitioners regardless of when his/her original training occurred.

Please visit the ARC/STSA website to view the AAD Pathway Policy with revisions noted, for a list of the currently Approved AAD Pathway Programs in surgical technology and for other information about programmatic accreditation.

Contact the ARC/STSA
For additional information or assistance, please contact us at info@arcstsa.org.

The ARC/STSA is a private 501(c)(3) non-profit accreditation services body providing national recognition for higher education programs in surgical technology and surgical assisting, in collaboration with the Commission on Allied Health Education Programs (CAAHEP), in order to promote quality surgical patient care through quality education.

2013

In 2009, the Accreditation Review Council on Education in Surgical Technology and Surgical Assisting (ARC/STSA) Board of Directors initiated a formal review of the current Standards for surgical technology programs (2004) as periodically required by CAAHEP policy for all Committees on Accreditation. The result of that lengthy but thorough review and revision process is the Proposed CAAHEP Standards and Guidelines for the Accreditation of Educational Programs in Surgical Technology (2013).

In 2012, the ARC/STSA Board of Directors submitted final proposed changes to the Standards and Guidelines for the Accreditation of Educational Programs in Surgical Technology which have been approved by CAAHEP’s Standards Committee and released for public comment.

The proposed Standards and Guidelines are currently posted by CAAHEP for public comment with the official public comment period closing on Friday, March 15, 2013 at 5:00 pm (EST). You can locate the official announcement, the proposed Standards and Guidelines, a summary of substantive changes and a timeline for program compliance on CAAHEP’s website.

If you wish to provide comments, they must be submitted in writing to Kathleen Megivern, CAAHEP Executive Director, no later than Friday, March 15, 2013 at 5:00 pm EST, by email at megivern@caahep.org or by ground mail to the CAAHEP office:

CAAHEP
Attn: Proposed Surgical Technology Standards
1361 Park Street
Clearwater, FL 33756

Following the public comment period, the proposed Standards and Guidelines will be presented by the CAAHEP Standards Committee at an Open Hearing on Sunday, April 14, 2013 at 5:00 pm (EST) in Charleston, SC at the Francis Marion Hotel. All are welcome to attend. If you plan on attending the Open Hearing in person, please contact the CAAHEP office either by email (lorna@caahep.org) or by telephone 727-210-2350.

The CAAHEP Standards Committee is also hosting the Open Hearing online. You may monitor and/or participate in the Open Hearing electronically via Go to Meeting software. Seats are limited for the digital Open Hearing; therefore, please register at https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/697250994 at your earliest convenience.

Consistent with both CAAHEP’s and ARC/STSA’s commitment to transparency, the above notice was also emailed to all CAAHEP accredited and applicant surgical technology program directors and campus deans.

The ARC/STSA is a private 501(c)(3) non-profit accreditation services body providing national recognition for higher education programs in surgical technology and surgical assisting, in collaboration with the Commission on Allied Health Education Programs (CAAHEP), a private 501(c)(3) non-profit accreditation services body, in order to promote quality surgical patient care through quality education.

2013 Dean Position

The Accreditation Review Council on Education in Surgical Technology and Surgical Assisting (ARC/STSA) is seeking a well-qualified Dean candidate for the position of Director on its Board of Directors to be appointed for a three (3) year term beginning the end of May 2013. This is a volunteer, non-compensated position and the appointee will be eligible for one additional three (3) year term.

Individual candidates should possess strong academic experience in allied health education program administration and be currently or recently employed as a Dean or Director of Education or the equivalent at an institution sponsoring a CAAHEP-accredited surgical technology or surgical assisting program.

The ARC/STSA is a private, 501(c)(3) non-profit accreditation services body providing national recognition for higher education programs in surgical technology and surgical assisting, in collaboration with the Commission on Allied Health Education Programs (CAAHEP), in order to promote quality surgical patient care.

Directors are responsible for reviewing school applications against the national Standards and recommending accreditation actions for programs seeking accreditation at two face-to-face meetings and two conference calls annually. Meeting expenses are paid by the ARC/STSA.

Candidates should submit a cover letter, résumé, ARC/STSA Curriculum Vitae, Volunteer Questionnaire, Confidentiality and Consent-to-Serve forms by mail. ARC/STSA forms are available at the links below or by calling 303-694-9262. Submission deadline is February 1, 2013.

Mail applications to:

Keith Orloff, CST, FAST
Executive Director
ARC/STSA
6 West Dry Creek Circle, #110
Littleton, Colorado 80120

For the ARC/STSA Consent-to-Serve Form visit the following website: www.arcstsa.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/consent_to_serve.pdf

For the ARC/STSA Volunteer Curriculum Vitae Form visit the following website: www.arcstsa.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/SiteVisitorCVForm.pdf

For the ARC/STSA Confidentiality Form visit the following website: www.arcstsa.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/Conflict-of-Interest-Policy-rev0709.pdf

For the ARC/STSA Volunteer Questionnaire Form visit the following website: www.arcstsa.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/SiteVisitorQuestionare.pdf

As part of the ARC/STSA Board of Directors ongoing commitment to organizational transparency for all of our communities of interest, a summary of recent actions and activities of the Board of Directors and its specialty Subcommittee on Accreditation for Surgical Assisting (SASA) can always be found in each edition of our semi-annual newsletter, the Outreach (formerly, the Communique), under the tab Newsletters on any page on this website. The archive of newsletters goes back nearly ten years and reflects the gradual transition to outcomes based accreditation policy and procedure.

Check out the President’s Message, the Executive Directors Corner and the SASA Update columns for the latest information, data summaries and analysis of policy and procedure changes. Recent accreditation status actions by institution are also listed for both Surgical Technology and Surgical Assisting.

To ensure maximum access to this information, each semiannual edition of the Outreach is emailed directly to the program directors at all accredited and applicant surgical technology and surgical assisting programs for posting at their campuses as well as being posted directly to the ARC/STSA website.

In its Outreach newsletter, the ARC/STSA discloses limited information regarding accredited and applicant programs to serve and protect the public interest. Consistent with CAAHEP policy and procedure, program-specific communications regarding the accreditation process (e.g., applications, self-studies, annual reports, site visit reports, and all accreditation correspondence) are considered confidential and are not published. Accredited or applicant institutions may release any correspondence at their discretion.

In addition, transparency in the accreditation process and public access is assured by this website which contains the most up-to-date information that programs, educators, administrators and students most often require to become informed about specialized programmatic accreditation. Information includes accreditation standards, policy and procedure, standardized forms and assessment tools, reporting instructions and interpretive guides. Click on any tab or on any arm of the ARC/STSA logo on the home page to find the information you need.

Finally, if you don’t find what you need on the website, please contact us at info@arcstsa.org for assistance.

The Bylaws for both the ARC/STSA and CAAHEP govern the operations of both organizations separately and undergo periodic review and updating. As a result of the review process, both organizations implemented minor revisions for 2012. Those revisions are intended to improve each organization’s ability to conduct the business of specialized programmatic accreditation.

As part of the ARC/STSA’s ongoing commitment to organizational transparency for all of our communities of interest, the revised Bylaws for both organizations are posted at the links indicated below.

ARC/STSA
Effective January 2012, the ARC/STSA Board of Directors amended the organization’s Bylaws by updating the formatting to more clearly reflect both the titles and content of each bylaw Article and Section, as well as to formalize changes to the titles of the offices of President and Vice-President in order to more properly align those roles with our partner organizations’ role designations (i.e., AST, ACS, NBSTSA, CAAHEP).

CAAHEP
Effective April 2012, the CAAHEP Board of Directors amended the organization’s Bylaws for formatting and substantive changes including restructuring membership categories, the addition of a Practitioner category to the list of Commissioners, permitting meetings by interactive electronic means (e.g., webinar format), the addition of Recent Graduate and Practitioner commissioners to the Board of Directors and changes to the organizational structure by eliminating no longer useful committees.

Effective January 1, 2013, programs must submit all documentation to the ARC/STSA in electronic/digital format only. No hard copy documentation will be accepted.  Submissions should consist of one single, “seamless” electronic/digital PDF file. Specifically,

• documents consisting of 20 PDF pages or less [excluding the ARC/STSA findings letter, if applicable] can be submitted via email attachment at info@arcstsa.org.
• documents consisting of 21 PDF pages or more [excluding the ARC/STSA findings letter, if applicable] should be submitted on a CD-ROM, DVD or external drive [electronic drive or “thumb” drive] via mail carrier [FedEx, UPS, US Postal Service, etc.] and tracked for delivery to:
  • Keith R. Orloff, CST, FAST
    Executive Director ARC/STSA
    6 West Dry Creek Circle, Suite 110
    Littleton, CO 80120

In addition, on September 30, 2011, the ARC/STSA formally notified programs that all CAAHEP-accredited Surgical Technology programs are required to implement the Core Curriculum for Surgical Technology, 6e [CCST6e] for all new cohorts (classes) starting on or after January 1, 2013.  Under Standards III.C. and V.E.3., the sponsor (school) must adopt and submit documentation verifying continued alignment with the latest edition of the Core Curriculum for Surgical Technology.

In conjunction with implementation of the CCST6e, at the March 2012 ARC/STSA Board of Directors meeting, a streamlined application process for approval of implementation of the CCST6e for programs not in process regarding an active findings related to Standard III.C. – Curriculum was adopted and became available for use on or after May 1, 2012. The streamlined process includes submission of the 2013 Core Curriculum for Surgical Technology, 6e (CCST6e) Implementation Approval Report [CCIAR-6e] and applicable supporting documentation indicated in the CCIAR-6e. The CCIAR-6e is available online at www.arcstsa.org/index.php/educators/educators-surgical-technology/st-forms-and-facts/.

Each institution was emailed an ARC/STSA Document Submission Procedures Change Notification form on Friday, October 5th to complete and submit to officially confirm program notification regarding the Document Submission Procedure Change.

The signed document must be returned by fax [303-741-3655], via mail carrier [US Postal Service, UPS, FedEx, etc.], or as a PDF attachment to an e-mail sent to Olivia.Christen@arcstsa.org or to the ARC/STSA office on or before November 16, 2012*.  [NOTE: The program is responsible for confirming receipt of any document submitted via fax to the ARC/STSA by contacting us at 303-694-9262 or by email to Olivia.Christen@arcstsa.org.]

Please note that programs that do not submit the ARC/STSA Documentation Submission Procedure Change Notification form on or before November 6, 2012 due date will be automatically assessed a $250 late fee, consistent with the ARC/STSA policy (please refer to the ARC/STSA Schedule of Fees, available online at www.arcstsa.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/SchedofFeesARC.pdf.

If you have not received the institution-specific ARC/STSA Document Submission Procedures Change Notification form, would like to confirm receipt of the notification form, or have any questions, please contact the ARC/STSA office at 303‐694‐9262.

Effective January 1, 2013, programs must submit all documentation to the ARC/STSA in electronic/digital format only. No hard copy documentation will be accepted.  Submissions should consist of one single, “seamless” electronic/digital PDF file. Specifically,

• documents consisting of 20 PDF pages or less [excluding the ARC/STSA findings letter, if applicable] can be submitted via email attachment at info@arcstsa.org.
• documents consisting of 21 PDF pages or more [excluding the ARC/STSA findings letter, if applicable] should be submitted on a CD-ROM, DVD or external drive [electronic drive or “thumb” drive] via mail carrier [FedEx, UPS, US Postal Service, etc.] andtracked for delivery to:
  • Keith R. Orloff, CST, FAST
    Executive Director ARC/STSA
    6 West Dry Creek Circle, Suite 110
    Littleton, CO 80120

Each institution was emailed an ARC/STSA Document Submission Procedures Change Notification form on Friday, October 5th to complete and submit to officially confirm program notification regarding the Document Submission Procedure Change.

The signed document must be returned by fax [303-741-3655], via mail carrier [US Postal Service, UPS, FedEx, etc.], or as a PDF attachment to an e-mail sent to Olivia.Christen@arcstsa.org or to the ARC/STSA office on or before November 16, 2012*.  [NOTE: The program is responsible for confirming receipt of any document submitted via fax to the ARC/STSA by contacting us at 303-694-9262 or by email to Olivia.Christen@arcstsa.org.]

Please note that programs that do not submit the ARC/STSA Documentation Submission Procedure Change Notification form on or before November 6, 2012 due date will be automatically assessed a $250 late fee, consistent with the ARC/STSA policy (please refer to the ARC/STSA Schedule of Fees, available online at www.arcstsa.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/SchedofFeesARC.pdf.

If you have not received the institution-specific ARC/STSA Document Submission Procedures Change Notification form, would like to confirm receipt of the notification form, or have any questions, please contact the ARC/STSA office at 303‐694‐9262.

• 2013 Scholarship Announcement

Annually since 2005, the ARC/STSA Board of Directors awards multiple scholarships of
up to $1000 in multiple categories. In 2012, the ARC/STSA awarded $6000 in
scholarships to 10 students and 1 educator.

For our 40th anniversary in 2012, the scholarship fund was increased. Going forward,
the ARC/STSA will award $4000 total in annual scholarships for students and $1000
total in annual scholarships for educators.

2013 Scholarship Categories and Applications:

• Student Scholarship
• Educator’s Scholarship –Degree Achievement

Application forms detailing eligibility requirements for each of the scholarship categories
can be obtained by clicking on the links above. All eligible applicants are encouraged to
apply.

Applications must be filled out completely, include all required support materials and be
received at ARC/STSA offices on or before the deadline of February 25, 2013.
Scholarship recipients will be announced at the 2013 AST National Conference and will
be posted online at www.arcstsa.org by June 14, 2013.

We are pleased to announce that the ARC/STSA office will be relocating our office!!

The ARC/STSA office will be closed on July 30 and 31, 2012.

During the period of July 30-August 1, 2012, we will not be available to answer phone calls. All incoming calls will be automatically forwarded to our voicemail system, and we will respond to voicemails beginning on Thursday, August 2, 2012.

Also during this period, we will have very limited access to emails. For urgent matters, please email us at info@arcstsa.org. Please note that we will be responding to emails outside of normal business hours.

All ARC/STSA contact information [mailing address, telephone numbers, fax numbers, etc.] will remain the same:

ARC/STSA
6 West Dry Creek Circle
Suite 110
Littleton, CO 80120-8031
P: 303.694.9262
F: 303-741-3655
info@arcstsa.org

Thank you for your patience and understanding during our relocation.