Entering a Surgical Assisting Program? How to Evaluate Programs
EVALUATING A SURGICAL ASSISTING
EDUCATIONAL PROGRAM
BY ASKING THE RIGHT QUESTIONS
Currently, there are 10 different surgical assisting
educational programs and more on the way. Some are
privately operated while others function within community
colleges. How do potential students select a
program? What constitutes a good program? What
are the various types of certification? Which offers
the best long term value for a career path? What are
the eligibility standards for admission and certification
testing?
AST unequivocally supports the Certified First
Assistant credential administered by the Liaison
Council on Certification for the Surgical Technologist. Effective January 1 , 2007, all candidates for this credentialmust be graduates of surgical assisting programsthat are accredited by the Commission on Accreditationof Allied Health Education Programs (CAAHEP). CAAHEP accreditation is significant and distinguishes
surgical assisting educational programs from
all others because only CAAHEP-accredited surgical
assisting programs must meet specific criteria
that were approved by renowned national medical
and allied health organizations, including the American
College of Surgeons, American Medical Association,
American Society of Anesthesiologists and the
American College of Physicians. CAAHEP is the only
allied health accreditation agency that these prestigious
medical organizations support.
Surgical assisting programs that are CAAHEP accredited have demonstrated to national standards that their curricula provide what surgical assistants actually need to know and perform in the operating room.
Often, in order to attract students, some programs
will employ the terms certification and approval
to obscure their decision not to pursue the rigorous
standards of CAAHEP accreditation for their
surgical assisting educational programs. Some forprofit
surgical assisting educational programs purchase
testing companies who award a “certification.”
Other surgical assisting educational programs claim
they are “approved,” and award a credential. Certain
programs state they are recognized by administrators
or state licensed. Another may market legitimacy
by virtue of a membership in an organization
while ignoring its accreditation process. Most of
these achievements are easily gained through applications
and do not represent an indication of a program’s
genuine value.
This muddling of terms is, and will continue to be, a serious detriment to the practice unless some benchmarks for surgical assisting education are recognized. According to the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA), “Degree mills and accreditation mills mislead and harm. ... ‘Accreditation’ from an accreditation mill can mislead students and the public about the quality of an institution. In the presence of degree mills and accreditation mills, students may spend a good deal of money and receive neither an education nor a useable credential.” 1
Current practitioners and potential students should inquire who developed the curriculum, how many surgical assistants are on the program’s staff and their backgrounds; what organization accredits the surgical assisting program, what allied health organizations support the program’s accreditation; what agency awards certification and what is the certification based on.
Only when surgical assistant students have complete information are they able to compare and fairly evaluate their educational options. In the long run, the profession of surgical assisting will only grow stronger when its educational pathways are uniformly credible and commonly offer a valid educational experience.
1. wwww.chea.org/degreemills/main.asp (accessed 12/21/2005)
CAAHEP Accredited Surgical Assistant Programs
New Surgical Assisting Program In Tennessee
Nashville State Technical Community
College (NSTCC) recently
received accreditation by CAAHEP
for its surgical assisting program.
Van Bates, CST, currently program director for surgical technology will also administer the surgical assisting program. He began his career in surgery in 1991 as a volunteer in the operating room and was employed for the next 10 years at Baptist Hospital in Nashville, Tennessee.
While working at the hospital, Bates joined the surgical technology program at Nashville State as an adjunct instructor and within a few years was hired as a full-time faculty instructor. When advancing to the position of program coordinator, he was forced to end his work at the hospital.
Bates identifies two compelling
reasons for launching the surgical
assisting program—demand from
the hospital community and commitment
to the surgical technology graduates.
Previously, Vanderbilt University
provided a continuous supply of
surgical residents to the area hospitals.
When federal limitations were
initiated that limited the number of
hours residents worked, it provided NSTCC with an opportunity to start
the surgical assisting program.
Other motivating factors included
the employee turnover that created
a steady demand, the specter of
SA certifi cation mandated as a condition
of employment and the expectations
of current surgical technology
graduates that surgical assisting
is the next educational step for their
advancement.
The outlook is positive. Several operating rooms have been waiting for official notification of accreditation to fully get behind the program. “I would tell anyone looking to start a surgical assisting program: first to do it right, and then be prepared to nurture it until it gets on its feet,” Bates commented.
