Newsletters

The ARC/STSA is proud to announce its 2022 scholarship recipients. 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. You can also learn more about the recipients on the scholarship page of [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

By Tracey Houston, CSFA, CST The Third Annual Joint Conference of the Association of Surgical Assistants and National Surgical Assistant Association took place on April 1-2 in Las Vegas, Nevada. The conference offered a range of workshops and discussions on emerging trends in the world of surgical assisting, including scientific presentations, multi-station workshops featuring the latest in surgical techniques, and [...]

ARC/STSA is proud to celebrate our golden anniversary this year – 50 years of accreditation and program excellence. Throughout the 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 [...]

We are thrilled to announce that two outstanding professionals have joined the ARC/STSA team. Join us in welcoming Accreditation Manager Rob Blackston and Operations Coordinator Kari Allen. Accreditation Manager Rob Blackston, MEd, CSFA, CST, FAST Rob Blackston, MEd, CSFA, CST, FAST, joined the ARC/STSA as its Accreditation Manager on April 1, 2022. Blackston will serve in accreditation services and [...]

By Ron Kruzel, MA, CAE, CST, ARC/STSA Executive Director Valentine’s greetings from all of us here at the ARC/STSA! Who do we love?! Our surgical technology and surgical assisting educators! So much is happening at the ARC/STSA with the start of 2022. November and December saw CAAHEP approval of the surgical technology Standards and Guidelines, launch of the Core [...]

Featuring Katie Towler, EdS, MA, and Niki Coughlin, BS, RCS, RVS, from Sioux City Career Academy, Sioux City, Iowa. The heart is one of the most complex and vital organs within the human body. However, studying the heart can be challenging because of its intricacy, and not all institutions have access to a cadaver lab and human organs on [...]

By Stephanie Austin, MA, CST, FAST Surgical technology has a long history in the medical community. The education for this profession began as on-the-job training only. As the profession grew, more education was required to hold this position. Beginning this year, in 2022, the official transition to an associate degree has begun. As educators, it is our job to [...]

 ARC/STSA 2022 Scholarships – Share the  !  It's Valentine's Day, so why not share the love and spread the word about ARC/STSA's 2022 scholarship opportunities for students and educators! Share this article and encourage your students and fellow educators to apply today for the ARC/STSA 2022 Student and Chris Keegan Memorial Educator Scholarships. Applications are available on the ARC/STSA website’s scholarship page. All completed [...]

By Chris Blevins, BSCJ, AAS-ST, CST, CNA Growth of a Podcast Once upon a time, a girl and her dislike of PowerPoint group presentations decided to venture into the world of podcasting. Who knew that less than four years later, this little project would reach over 8.4K downloads, in three countries, and provide a team project that students look [...]

Last month, educators’ hearts and minds came together at EdAccred’s first Better Together: Success Strategy Talk of 2022. During the session, “Clinical Success Strategies During the Pandemic,” surgical technology and surgical assisting educators discussed strategies for continued student success in meeting clinical requirements when faced with the current challenges of the pandemic. Take a closer look below at some [...]

Take advantage of the early bird pricing for AccredX, the inaugural accreditation conference and expo presented by ARC/STSA and EdAccred, Thursday, October 6–Saturday, October 8, 2022, in San Antonio, Texas! AccredX will offer hands-on workshops, proven program management strategies, and best practices in surgical technology and surgical assisting education, all designed to support educators in achieving and maintaining compliance [...]

All of us here at the ARC/STSA hope you make the time to relax, enjoy family, friends and rejoice in the holiday season. Before you do, please take a few moments for some end-of-year updates.

Meridian Institute of Surgical Assisting, established in 1999, is currently the only accredited surgical assisting program incorporating a porcine live-tissue training lab for students pursuing a career as a surgical first assistant. Originally located in Joelton, Tennessee, the facility moved to Nashville in 2010 to allow more students the opportunity to gain hands-on experience in a laboratory setting.