On May 25, the International Museum of Surgical Science (IMSS) launched, “The Operating Room: Surgical Technology Then and Now,” the first-ever museum exhibition featuring surgical technology. The evening before, IMSS hosted a reception where more than 200 surgical technologists and other professionals gathered to hear remarks from museum curator Michelle Rinard, ARC/STSA President Janice Grewatz, former AST President Kevin Craycraft, and Rasmussen University – Romeoville Surgical Technology Program Director Jill Teodoro, after which the three cut the ribbon to officially open the exhibit.
ARC/STSA President Janice Grewatz, AST Past President Kevin Craycraft, and Rasmussen University – Romeoville Surgical Technology Program Director Jill Teodoro cut the ribbon to officially open “The Operating Room: Surgical Technology Then and Now”.
ARC/STSA President Janice Grewatz provides opening remarks at “The Operating Room: Surgical Technology Then and Now” exhibition.
Grewatz, who is program director of the Surgical Technology Program at Parkland College in Champaign, Illinois, championed the exhibit, working to secure support in 2019 after visiting the museum with her students. Although plans were postponed during the pandemic, in May of 2022, Grewatz initiated discussions with the IMSS curator regarding the creation of an exhibit featuring the vital role of the surgical technologist in the operating room. Craycraft joined Grewatz to meet with the IMSS team in July of 2022 and the ARC/STSA and AST partnered as premiere sponsors of the exhibition, with Rasmussen University joining to provide additional support.
ARC/STSA Executive Director Ron Kruzel, CAAHEP President Don Balasa, ARC/STSA President Janice Grewatz, and AST CEO & Executive Director Bill Teutsch enjoy the exhibit reception.
As the IMSS developed the exhibition, AST provided historical research about the profession, while the ARC/STSA provided details regarding the education and accreditation of surgical technologists including a video, “The Education of a Surgical Technologist”. The video plays on a continuous loop within the exhibition highlighting the critical role of the surgical technologist and the importance of proper training and education for the surgical technologist. It can be viewed below and lives permanently on ARC/STSA’s website Benefits of Programmatic Accreditation page.
ARC/STSA Executive Director Ron Kruzel and President Janice Grewatz. Janice stands next to the monitor playing the video “Education of a Surgical Technologist”.
IMSS is North America’s only museum devoted to surgery and is part of the International College of Surgeons (ICS). The Museum was originally conceived as the ICS Hall of Fame and as a repository for its growing collection of historically significant surgical instrumentation, artworks and manuscripts. In 1954, ICS acquired a historic mansion to house the Museum, adjacent to its headquarters on the shore of Lake Michigan in Chicago. The four-story mansion, named the Eleanor Robinson Countiss House, was constructed in 1917 and is one of four remaining of seven historically significant Chicago mansions on the lakefront. [1]
It is in this beautiful and historic setting the Museum’s collection of more than 7,000 medical artifacts is housed, including an amputation saw circa 1500 and the Lindbergh perfusion pump circa 1935.
Editor’s note: Educators, please be sure to share this exciting news with your students and stay tuned for a virtual tour of “The Operating Room: Surgical Technology Then and Now,” to be released later this year.
Sources
1. https://imss.org/the-history/
