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 train the next generation of surgical technologists. We mold their minds to understand the concepts and importance of sterile technique. We instill processes and procedures so students can enter the operating room with confidence. We prepare them to anticipate the needs of even the ficklest surgeon. We do all of this for the love of teaching and the love of the profession.
Lou Holtz, former head coach for Notre Dame football said it best: “Ability is what you are capable of doing, motivation determines what you do, and attitude determines how well you do it.” This statement holds true in all aspects of life, but especially in education. Identifying the ability our students have is the first step in molding them into professionals. As we teach our students, we motivate them to be the best they can be and to succeed at doing the things they never thought they could. With that success comes the confidence and attitude that they know their job and they do it well.
But what about us as educators? We have all proven we have the ability to be great surgical technologists, we were motivated to excel, and our attitude showed that we were the best in our respective areas. We mentored students in the hospital and we trained new employees. Yet now we have stepped out of our comfort zone into the world