Surgical Technology Schools

A surgical technician is a very lucrative and respectable profession. Surgical technologists (also referred to as surgical technicians) earn generous salaries that carry the added advantage of long-term job security. In other words, you will earn more money as a surgical technician with training in the medical field than you will receive from gaining a degree in liberal arts.

The medical profession is highly respected, rewarding, and exciting. If you are someone who enjoys serving others, a surgical technology career may be the right choice for you.

Role of the Surgical Technologist
Surgical technologists are members of a medical team who are responsible for maintaining a clean and sterile operating room so that physicians may perform surgeries under optimal conditions. They must make sure that the surgical equipment is clean and germ-free, that all surgical instruments are organized and ready for use, and must hand them to the physician performing the surgery. Observing a patient’s vital signs during surgery and even helping hold equipment during a procedure is not unusual.

Knowledge of surgical machines like lasers and suction machines are also important for the job. The responsibility of prepping a patient before and after surgery also lies with the surgical technologist. They are deeply relied upon by doctors, as they play a very vital role in the surgical room.

Apart from training and education, having compatible personality traits is equally important to be a successful certified surgical technologist. These include:

Patient and calm demeanor
Emotional matured and stable
Excellent manual dexterity
Ability to stay on one’s feet for hours at a time
Clean and meticulous, with a natural desire to follow hospital protocol for sterilization of surgical rooms and prepping patients
Able to anticipate the needs of other medical professionals during a medical procedure
Find value in being a good team member and able to take directions
Able to stay alert and focused on one thing for an extended period of time
High respect for patient privacy and HIPAA [Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act]
Strong communication skills
Must be willing to take precautions when exposed to communicable diseases
Ability to deal with stressful situations

With these personality traits and adequate training, you are certain to perform well in your day-to-day employment, which often include highly stressful, emergency situations.

One of the first things to determine is the specialty you plan to focus on in your surgical technician career. Once you decide this, you can start by narrowing down your search to schools that offer the specialty you seek.

The second thing to determine is whether you want to attend a traditional program at a technical college, vocational school, hospital, or university, or gain your degree through an online surgical technology school. Both options have pros and cons.

Traditional College Program		Online Program
Pros	Cons	Pros	Cons
Lively campus experience More resources Live instruction and training Participate in discussions with peers Face-to-face access to instructors	More expensive Must physically be on campus at specific times Difficult to balance with family life	More affordable Flexible for families Can complete remotely	Limited in hands-on instruction Less respected by employers May not be accredited

If you decide to reap the benefits of online surgical technology programs, make sure you limit your choices to accredited degree programs. These programs are held to a higher educational standard, and you will be better prepared for the field. Not only that, but most employers will not hire students who have not completed accredited programs.

If you cannot decide between online surgical technology schools and traditional colleges, it may be possible to have the best of both worlds. Some well-known colleges and universities offer surgical technology degrees online. While your degree would bear the name of the university, this approach can be more costly. It is also important to confirm that the entire degree can be completed online before making a commitment. Ultimately, you want to gain the best education that will allow you to gain your surgical technician certification.

Between online surgical technology programs and degrees offered at established, well-known colleges, you have plenty to consider when picking the right program for you. Ultimately, you need to consider your future career goals, present circumstances, and financial resources at your disposal when choosing a school.

In general, the surgical training courses have a time commitment of one year. However, there are some surgical technology training colleges that provide degree programs in surgical technology. As a surgical technology student, you should plan to devote two years to complete this coursework successfully.

Studying for your surgical technology degree is about more than just making good grades. Success requires lots of hard work and diligence because most of the classes are highly technical and scientific. It is very important that surgical technicians take their education seriously and learn as much as possible, as a lack of knowledge on the job can be life-threatening for patients.

For starters, be prepared to study as often as you can. You will need to gain knowledge in physiology, biology, anatomy, and pharmacology to get your surgical technology degree, and most people cannot learn these things overnight.

Success in surgical technology schools requires a lot of memorization. One of the best ways to memorize information is to use flash cards. Keep a running flash card catalogue with a card for each piece of information you need to learn, and use the flash cards daily.

Study groups are great for filling in gaps in your notes and quizzing other students on material. Study groups are more challenging for people taking online surgical technology courses; ask your program about services like conference calls and online video conferences to connect with other students in your program.

If you are considering becoming a surgical technician, you must have solid general knowledge in areas like math, science, and writing. If you are taking college level courses now, then the coursework that will help you immensely for the surgical subjects include anatomy, physiology, medical terminology, and surgical procedures.

Each nationally-recognized and accredited surgical technology program will have standard coursework that must be completed in order to complete your surgical technology training. The basic course structure consists of practical as well as theoretical sessions. When it comes to theory, you will have to cover a variety of subjects such as physiology, anatomy, medical terminology, pathology, surgical complications, microbiology, environmental hazards and so on. The course content is very long and extensive. You need to be serious in order to complete the coursework successfully, and your prospects of making a lucrative career are even better your skills and talent shine during your studies.

Next comes the practical phase, where a student is expected to gain a sound knowledge in obstetrics, neurosurgery, gynecology, and urology. The training you will receive is based on hands-on experience gained through internships at local hospitals and other surgical facilities. In an internship, you will practice the skills you learned while under the supervision of experienced surgical technicians and medical professionals. These often last from six to eight weeks, but can go as long as twelve months depending on the specialty.

When you have successfully completed the surgical technologist training, the next step is to pass the National Certification Exam, a multiple choice exam conducted by the National Board of Surgical Technology and Surgical Assisting [NBSTSA]. It is only after passing this examination that you may call yourself a Certified Surgical Technologist [CST]. This certification needs to be renewed every four years. It is important to stay in good standing with the NBSTSA and renew your certification before it expires.

Once you have completed the coursework from a surgical technology school, you can find a job in a variety of healthcare settings such as hospitals, and private doctor’s practices, dentist’s offices, and outpatient centers. Here you will work under the supervision of surgeons, registered nurses, and related surgical staff. Best of all, you will have an exciting, rewarding career helping others while being regarded as an essential member of a team.

Surgical Technology Schools – Training