The ARC/STSA Chris Keegan Memorial Educator Scholarship is awarded to surgical technology and surgical assisting educators pursuing academic degrees with the goal of furthering their career in the field of surgical technology or surgical assisting education. 2021 scholarship recipient Kendra Thompson, ST-R, CST, shares her story.
The 2021 Association of Surgical Technology (AST) Conference took place July 21-23 in Las Vegas, NV. Christopher Achim and Edison Smith, student attendees from the Nevada Career Institute, Las Vegas, share their key takeaways from the memorable experience, including their favorite sessions, an overview of the student forum and the importance of attending an event of this magnitude early in their professional careers.
ARC/STSA is proud to announce the launch of the EdAccred website (Edaccred.org), with resources designed to support surgical technology and surgical assisting educators.
As educators, we bring a lot of creativity to our training, coming up with hacks, tips and tricks to demonstrate surgical procedural skills. We also know that hands-on, simulation-based training is one of the best ways to engage students and prepare them for entering the field. As program director, I look for simulation tools and training platforms that give me room to be creative.
One of the most important tasks when I begin a cohort is assigning my students to a clinical site. In years past, this process was completed with a few emails. However, many hospitals are now keeping track of their clinical students through an online onboarding service. These websites have given hospitals the ability to access all student information in one place, which has made it much easier for hospital staff to coordinate their clinical rotations.
Graduation for the class of 2021 (and 2020) presented many programs with a challenge: How should graduation ceremonies balance safety and celebration? We asked surgical technology and surgical assisting educators how their institutions approached the situation and were wowed by their dedication and creativity. Take a look in this round up of stories from across the country.
A student’s first rotation as a surgical technologist can be daunting. As educators, we want to prepare students as best we can for the operating room. But what does the operating room expect from surgical technology students? To find out more, I asked a nurse manager and an operating room (OR) educator from two different hospital systems what they expect from a surgical technology clinical student.
Surgical professionals from across the country gathered for the second annual Joint Conference of the Association of Surgical Assistants (ASA) and National Surgical Assistant Association (NSAA), April 23-24 in Orlando, FL. The two-day event included hands-on learning experiences, inspiring speakers, legislative insights, and an opportunity to network with colleagues and exchange ideas.
The ARC/STSA is proud to announce the recipients of the 2021 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, shared below, and stay tuned for more information about their stories throughout the summer.
ARC/STSA would like to congratulate the surgical technology programs at Wallace Community College, Marion Technical College and Blackhawk Technical College for receiving initial accreditation, and Augusta Technical College for receiving continuing accreditation. Please join us in congratulating these programs for achieving this accomplishment and acknowledging the dedication and hard work it took to reach such important milestones.
