Surgical Technology Services A.S.

Surgical technologists are allied health professionals who are an integral part of the team of medical practitioners providing surgical care to patients in a variety of settings.

The surgical technologist works under medical supervision to facilitate the safe and effective conduct of invasive surgical procedures. This individual works under the supervision of a surgeon to ensure that the operating room or environment is safe, that equipment functions properly, and that the operative procedure is conducted under conditions that maximize patient safety.

Eastern Florida State College offers an associate degree program in Surgical Services. Students in this program develop the technical ability and acquire the knowledge necessary for initial employment in a hospital operating room as a member of a surgical team and qualify for employment in any health care facility where surgery is performed. Students complete a one-year academic study including supervised clinical training in the Surgical Services lab on campus and in the modern surgical arenas of area health care facilities.

The program operates under the guidelines of the Association of Surgical Technologists (AST) and the Florida Department of Education.

Eastern Florida State College's Surgical Services program has received initial accreditation from the Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs (www.caahep.org).

Outcomes for the 2018-2019, 2019-2020, and 2020-2021 Surgical Services Program are as follows:

The EFSC Surgical Services Program's mission is to "prepare competent entry level surgical technologists in the cognitive (knowledge), psycho-motor (skills), and affective (behavior) learning domains."

Upon completion of the Surgical Technology Services program, and the initial accreditation approved, graduates are eligible to apply to the National Board of Surgical Technology and Surgical Assisting (NBSTSA) to take the National Certifying Exam, provided all the eligibility requirements have been met. Those who pass this exam demonstrate their theoretical and practical knowledge of surgical technology and are granted the designation Certified Surgical Technologist (CST).

Please note that CAAHEP accreditation requires the following requirements for completion of the Surgical Technology Services program and to be able to take the National Board of Surgical Technology and Surgical Assisting (NBSTSA).

1. The number of cases the student must complete is a minimum of 120.
2. Students are required to complete 30 cases in General Surgery. Twenty of the cases must be in the First Scrub (FS) Role. The remaining 10 cases may be performed in either the FS or Second Scrub (SS) role.
3. Specialty Surgery:
   - A student must complete a minimum of 90 cases in various surgical specialties, excluding General Surgery.
   a) A minimum of 60 cases must be performed in the FS role and distributed amongst a minimum of four surgical specialties. 1) A minimum of ten cases in four different specialties must be completed in the FS role (40 cases total). 2) The additional 20 cases in the FS role may be distributed amongst any one surgical specialty or multiple surgical specialties.
   b) The remaining 30 cases may be performed in any surgical specialty in either the FS or SS role.
   - Surgical specialties (excluding General Surgery)
   a) Cardiothoracic
   b) Genitourinary
   c) Neurologic
   d) Obstetric and gynecologic
   e) Orthopedic
   f) Otorhinolaryngologic
   g) Ophthalmologic
   h) Oral Maxillofacial
   i) Peripheral vascular
   j) Plastics and reconstructive
   k) Procurement and transplant
4. The surgical technology services program is required to verify through the surgical rotation documentation the students’ progression in First and Second Scrubbing surgical procedures of increased complexity as he/she moves toward entry-level graduate abilities.
5. Diagnostic endoscopy cases and vaginal delivery cases are not mandatory, but up to 10 diagnostic endoscopic cases and five vaginal delivery cases can be counted toward the maximum number of Second Scrub Role cases.
6. Observation cases must be documented, but do not count toward the 120 required cases.
7. Counted Cases: cases will be counted according to surgical specialty. Examples:

• • Trauma patient requires a Splenectomy and repair of a LeFort I fracture. Two cases can be counted and documented since the splenectomy is general surgery specialty and repair of LeFort I is oral-maxillofacial surgical specialty.
  • Patient requires a breast biopsy followed by mastectomy. It is one pathology, breast cancer, and the specialty is general surgery; therefore, it is counted and documented as one procedure – one case.