Monthly Archives: August 2018

With the month of August upon us, surgical technology and surgical assisting educators are back on campus, student orientation is underway and classes are resuming.  It will be time for the graduating class of 2019 to walk across the stage and into their careers as surgical technologists and surgical assistants before we know it. August 1, 2018, marked three years until the recommended date of August 1, 2021, for Associate Degree (AD) implementation for surgical technology programs. As the date draws closer, the ARC/STSA is working with CAAHEP to initiate a surgical technology Standards and Guidelines review with possible revision moving into the next year.

Technology – particularly, robotics – is becoming an integral part of surgery. While practices in the operating room rapidly advance, there is concern that classrooms are not keeping up. Realistically, however, program directors cannot invest in expensive equipment – so how can students be better prepared?  In our May/June newsletter, we shared an educator’s perspective, from Dr. Joseph B. Long, CST, FAST, a lead faculty member at Lansing Community College. Now hear from John C. Springer, CST, lead surgical technologist in Head and Neck Surgery at Keck Hospital of USC, who weighs in with his 10 years of clinical experience and observations.

As the summer slowly comes to a close, we’d like to give one more shout-out to some of your recent graduates. Highlighted below are a few of the stories we received, as told by the graduates themselves. These students have overcome fear and personal challenges, while rising to the top. We applaud their dedication and are happy to welcome them into the profession.

Think Outside the Book is a series that features creative teaching techniques. In this edition, Crystal Warner, dean of surgical technology at Zenith Education Group, shares how she keeps her students prepared for anything – in real-time, at any time.