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 and Master of Arts in Liberal Studies from the University of Findlay in Findlay, Ohio. She began her career in outpatient mental health services before returning to the classroom to obtain a degree in Surgical Assisting from Eastern Virginia Medical School (EVMS) in Norfolk, Virginia. Upon graduation from EVMS, she was hired at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, in the division of cardiovascular surgery. Ms. Olson continued her education, earning a Master of Science in Clinical Anatomy from Northeast College of Health Sciences in Seneca Falls, NY.
Olson currently serves as the clinical coordinator and didactic instructor in the Surgical First Assistant Program at Mayo Clinic School of Health Sciences in Rochester, Minnesota. She teaches in a variety of courses such as operative techniques and procedures, clinical surgical practice I/II, advanced topics in surgery, and applied surgical anatomy. She has also participated in clinical research initiatives and resident training within the Department of Anatomy and Mayo College of Medicine.
Olson is an active member of the National Surgical Assistant Association (NSAA), currently serving as vice president, and has been the chair of the NSAA Professional Development and Education Committee board for the past 8 years.
We’re honored to have Olson as one of our speakers at AccredX, joining the panel “Bringing Home the Gold: Raising Student Outcomes in Surgical Technology and Surgical Assisting Programs (Standard IV).” We can’t thank her enough for her commitment to and support of ARC/STSA!