Newsletter

The Accreditation Review Council on Education for Surgical Technology and Surgical Assisting (ARC/STSA) welcomes Christy Baily-Byers as the Director of Education Services beginning November 2017. In this role, Baily-Byers will be responsible for the development and delivery of accreditation-related education programs and outreach activities of the ARC/STSA, including marketing and constituent communications. Baily-Byers previously served as the manager of training and [...]

In the June e-newsletter, we briefly discussed the revision process for the 2013 Standards and Guidelines for the Accreditation of Educational Programs in Surgical Technology, as related to current Guideline language under Standard I.A., “Projected for August 1, 2021, all sponsoring institutions should award a minimum of an Associate’s Degree at the completion of the program.” Let’s review in more detail [...]

By Dr. Joseph B. Long CST, FAST, EdD I worked for a number of years as a CST for two different health care institutions and served surgical technology students for two different post-secondary schools in the role of dean and program director. I only mention this to inform you that I have "been around the block", so to speak. During my [...]

After reading a site visitor’s perspective in the ARC/STSA newsletter, I thought it would be a good idea to write a short article from the perspective of the program. As a former ARC/STSA board member and current site visitor, I have spoken to many program directors over the years, and everyone has the same fears when they receive the dreaded letter/email stating your program’s visit is due for its on-site evaluation.

Being a full-time educator along with a student is not always the easiest, but it can be done. Since receiving the scholarship, I have been able to focus not only on my own education but also the education that I am giving my students.

The current CAAHEP Accreditation Standards for Surgical Technology were adopted in 2013 and include a Guideline related to Standard I.A. stating, “Projected for Aug. 1, 2021, all sponsoring institutions should award a minimum of an associate degree at the completion of the program.” What brought us to the 2013 Guideline language, and what will the CAAHEP process look like moving forward?