Newsletters

Newsletters2022-11-09T14:57:38-07:00

Message from Executive Director Ron Kruzel: Leading by Example

By Ron Kruzel, MA, CAE, CST, FAST Welcome to summer 2023! You heard it right; we are halfway through the year! If you are like me, you are juggling a multitude of projects and catching up on a myriad of deadlines. What a busy five months since January. The current challenges related to the workforce shortage are keeping us [...]

June 22nd, 2023|

Surgical Technology Exhibition Opens at the International Museum of Surgical Science

On May 25, the International Museum of Surgical Science (IMSS) launched, “The Operating Room: Surgical Technology Then and Now,” the first-ever museum exhibition featuring surgical technology. The evening before, IMSS hosted a reception where more than 200 surgical technologists and other professionals gathered to hear remarks from museum curator Michelle Rinard, ARC/STSA President Janice Grewatz, former AST President Kevin [...]

June 22nd, 2023|

Surgical Skills Bootcamp: How One Program Director Helps Keep Students’ Skills Sharp

By Chris Ahearn, AAS, CST Achieving high quality surgical care is a priority for any healthcare organization. As surgical technology educators, we are tasked with providing our communities of interest with competent, entry-level graduates. The complex nature of modern surgical interventions has created opportunities for educators to expand and improve clinical instruction while preparing students to enter the workforce. To [...]

June 22nd, 2023|

Better Together: Sterile Processing and Surgical Technology Synergy

Our amazing educators met in April to support one another, share tips for starting a sterile processing program, and discuss how sterile processing and surgical technology programs can have a mutually beneficial relationship. The word of the day was synergy, since educators reported that the benefits of the two programs working collaboratively were exponentially greater for their constituencies than [...]

June 22nd, 2023|

ARC/STSA Welcomes New Accreditation Manager

Join us in welcoming Kristy Pierce, BS, CST, to the ARC/STSA team. Kristy joined the ARC/STSA staff on May 1, 2023, as the accreditation manager. She will oversee and coordinate all site visit activities of the ARC/STSA to help fulfill our mission to provide accreditation services that validate excellence of educational programs and ensure quality patient care. Pierce brings [...]

June 22nd, 2023|

Congratulations to ARC/STSA’s 2023 Scholarship Recipients

The ARC/STSA is proud to announce the recipients of the 2023 scholarship awards. This year, ARC/STSA awarded 10 student scholarships of $500 each and one $1,000 educator scholarship. Join us in celebrating these accomplished recipients, whose quotes are shared below. Our 2024 scholarship applications will be available by October 2023 on the ARC/STSA website Scholarship page. Chris Keegan Memorial [...]

June 22nd, 2023|

Spotlight on Excellence

The ARC/STSA is proud to highlight excellence in our educator and volunteer communities. Whether you have been recognized with an award or honor, advanced your education, or dedicated your time to serve others, we want to share your good news with our community. Email Erin.Monroy@arcstsa.org to share your or others' accomplishments. Choffin Community & Technical College Surgical Technology Program [...]

June 22nd, 2023|

Congrats to Programs Earning Continuing and Initial Accreditation-May 2023

ARC/STSA would like to congratulate the surgical technology programs that have recently received awards of initial and continuing accreditation. Please join us in acknowledging the dedication and hard work it took for these programs to reach these critical milestones. Congratulations! The Accreditation Process Programmatic accreditation is awarded by CAAHEP following review and recommendation by the Committee on Accreditation (CoA) – [...]

June 22nd, 2023|

Let AccredX Ease Accreditation Stress

What is AccredX and what makes it different from other conferences? AccredX is designed to support our 400+ surgical technology and surgical assisting programs with accreditation-focused continuing education and professional dvelopment. AccredX offers hands-on workshops, proven program management strategies, and best practices in surgical technology and surgical assisting education, to provide educators with the necessary tools to achieve and [...]

June 22nd, 2023|

Update from Executive Director Ron Kruzel on Workforce Efforts and Cooperation Nationwide

By Ron Kruzel, MA, CAE, CST, FAST Many thanks to you—all our ARC/STSA educators—who work day in and day out to provide a quality education to your students, develop strong relationships with your partners, including local healthcare centers, and elevate the professions in your communities, states, and across the nation. You make a difference! We want you to know [...]

March 31st, 2023|

Hospital Recruitment: Surgical Technologist Residency Program

By Rob Blackston, M.Ed., CST, CSFA, FAST The surgical technologist staffing shortage is a serious issue that can have a significant impact on patient care and safety. It is essential to address this shortage by increasing the availability of, and access to, education programs that attract and retain more individuals in this field. A few months ago, a local [...]

March 31st, 2023|

A Clinical Nurse Educator and a CST Discuss the Shortage of Surgical Technologists

Clinical Nurse Educator Renegade (Ren) Scott-Feagle, MSN/Ed, BSHS/M, RN, CNOR, and Traveling Certified Surgical Technologist Silviana Vina, BS, CST, who worked together as colleagues at the University Medical Center of Southern Nevada (UMCSN) in Las Vegas, Nevada, share their thoughts on the shortage of surgical technologists and their crucial intraoperative role. Ren Scott-Feagle (RSF): Silviana, thank you so much [...]

March 31st, 2023|

Student Credits Career Growth and Leadership Opportunities to a Strong Educational Foundation in Sterile Processing

By Katie Richie, BS, CHL, CIS, CRCST, CSPDT, CST Healthcare practitioners say that the sterile processing department is the heart of the hospital–without it, everything fails within the hospital. Similarly, surgical technologists depend on the work of sterile processing technicians, as the relationship between the operating room and sterile processing department is critically important. I believe that students who [...]

March 31st, 2023|

Congrats to Programs Earning Continuing and Initial Accreditation-November 2022-January 2023

ARC/STSA would like to congratulate the surgical technology programs that have recently received awards of initial and continuing accreditation. Please join us in acknowledging the dedication and hard work it took for these programs to reach these critical milestones. Surgical Technology Initial Accreditation Award: Carrington College, Phoenix, AZ Baptist Health Sciences University, Memphis, TN Surgical Technology Continuing Accreditation Award: Coastal Pines [...]

March 31st, 2023|

Here’s to You: Celebrating our Educators and 50 Years of Excellence in Accreditation

Our golden anniversary year is coming to an end, but stories of our longest continuously-accredited programs will continue. Stay tuned for more in 2023, and enjoy these stories of four programs each accredited for more than four decades. Featured in this issue are the surgical technology programs at Parkland College, Champaign, IL; Ivy Tech Community College, Lafayette, IN; Southeast [...]

December 15th, 2022|

Success Strategies in Sixty Seconds

By Chris Ahearn, AAS, CST When I transitioned from the OR to a program director position at a new surgical technology program, I wanted to learn all I could about how to create and maintain a successful program. As educators across the country pursue excellence every day and successfully graduate competent, entry-level surgical technologists, the ARC/STSA and EdAccred continue [...]

December 15th, 2022|

AccredX Wrap-Up

By Jerad Claytor, MSHE, CST From the exciting Hands-On Learning Lab and collaborative Round Table Discussions to the accreditation-focused presentations and ending with an AFE Workshop, the first AccredX conference held October 6-8 was a HIT! Educators from across the country were able to listen, learn, share, and network with colleagues to better improve their time in the classroom… [...]

December 15th, 2022|

Surgery in Space Part II: The Countdown Has Begun

By Chris Ahearn, AAS, CSTThe June ARC/STSA newsletter highlighted ways that the surgical technology community might help to solve some difficult scenarios encountered when considering surgery in space. But surgical technologists’ out-of-this-world skills also have applications a little closer to home – the past years have brought a surge of growth to the telemedicine, telesurgery, and robotics fields.Telemedicine can be [...]

December 15th, 2022|

Spotlight on ARC/STSA’s 2022 Scholarship Recipients

The ARC/STSA is proud to announce the recipients of the 2022 scholarship awards. This year, ARC/STSA awarded 10 student scholarships of $500 each and one $1,000 educator scholarship. Join us in celebrating these accomplished recipients, whose quotes are shared below, and be sure to spread the word about our 2023 scholarship applications, now posted on our Scholarship page. Chris [...]

December 15th, 2022|

Congrats to Programs Earning Continuing and Initial Accreditation

ARC/STSA would like to congratulate the surgical technology programs that have recently received awards of initial and continuing accreditation. Please join us in acknowledging the dedication and hard work it took for these programs to reach these critical milestones. Surgical Technology Initial Accreditation Award: Camden County College, Blackwood, NJ Concorde Career College, Memphis, TN The University of Memphis, Memphis, TN [...]

December 15th, 2022|

Surgery in Space: The CST and Their Role in Problem Solving

By Chris Ahearn, AAS, CST, and featuring Dr. Josef F. Schmid, III With an early 2030 launch date planned for mankind’s first mission to Mars, NASA flight surgeons and their teams have been hard at work. With 240 days between liftoff and touchdown, crews onboard are susceptible to all manner of human maladies. From headaches to bone resorption, acute [...]

June 28th, 2022|

August 1st: Accreditation Summer Updates!

By ARC/STSA Accreditation Team As you celebrate the success of student graduations and look forward to the well-deserved summer break, we wanted to remind you about several accreditation documents with an August 1, 2022, effective date; including the new Standards and Guidelines for the Accreditation of Educational Programs in Surgical Technology (Standards), the Core Curriculum for Surgical Assisting, 4th [...]

June 28th, 2022|
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