By Amy Broussard, AAS, CHL, CSFA, CRCST, CST, FAST, and Eboni Saurage, EdD, CST, FAST The Association of Surgical Technologists (AST) held its 52nd Surgical Technology Conference in New Orleans, LA, on June 3-5, 2022. The conference drew more than 1,200 enthusiastic active and associate members which included many educators, students and recent graduates. We reached out to learn how [...]
What is AccredX and what makes it different from other conferences? AccredX is the first annual conference designed to support our 400+ surgical technology and surgical assisting programs with accreditation-focused continuing education. 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 [...]
ARC/STSA is proud to celebrate our golden anniversary this year – 50 years of accreditation and education excellence. This year we’ll be looking back at the last five decades — from our humble beginnings in December 1972 as the Joint Review Committee on Educational Programs for the Operating Room Technician (JRC-ORT) to today, as we provide national accreditation services for [...]
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: Ozarka College, Mountain View, AR Surgical Technology Continuing Accreditation Award: Central Piedmont Community College, Charlotte, NC Daytona [...]
The ARC/STSA wishes to extend a special thank you to Helga Olson, MA, MSc., CSA, CSFA. Olson served from 2016–2022 on the ARC/STSA Board of Directors – Subcommittee on Accreditation for Surgical Assisting (SASA), and we are so grateful for her volunteerism and six years of tireless service contributed. Olson, pictured left, earned her Bachelor of Science in Counseling Psychology [...]
By Rebecca Hall, MS, CRCST, CSA, CST, FAST Recognized for the sixth consecutive year as a tech-savvy college by the Center for Digital Education, Delta College incorporates technology to improve curriculum delivery and service across its programs. Following this tradition, our surgical first assistant and surgical technology programs were the first in the state of Michigan to use the Anatomage [...]
Featuring Erin White-Mincarelli, PhD, CST, FAST Dr. Erin White-Mincarelli, surgical technology program director at Montgomery County Community College in Pennsylvania and ARC/STSA board member, speaks with ARC/STSA’s education coordinator, Erin Monroy, about the new Annual Report platform and provides guidance for report submission, which has been extended through August 1, 2022. Erin Monroy: How lucky am I to interview a webinar [...]
By Jay Barrueta, AAS, CST Creativity and hands-on learning are a necessity for keeping students engaged, but what other solutions can instructors use to put our creative energy to better use and provide students the best preparation for surgery? Our program has started using Mock Medical drop-ins, trainers, and laparoscopic tower to give students a realistic surgical simulation experience that [...]
By Chris Ahearn, AAS, CST Surgical Technology educators from around the country met virtually on February 24 for our third Better Together brainstorming event of 2022. Recruiting and retaining top surgical technology students was on everyone’s mind, and the ideas shared will help shape the future of surgical technology education for the betterment of our students, our programs, and especially our [...]
The ARC/STSA is honored to join the Association of Surgical Assistants and the National Surgical Assistant Association this week, April 18 -22, 2022, to pay tribute to surgical assistants during National Surgical Assistants Week. Many thanks to each of you for your hard work, long hours and fervent commitment to patient safety. We would also like to express our gratitude to [...]
