What credentials are required to work as a surgical technologist?

• Stark State graduates are eligible to sit for a certification exam through The National Board of Surgical Technology and Surgical Assisting to become a certified surgical technologist (CST). See nbstsa.org for more information.

How is the program designed?

• The program combines classroom, laboratory, and clinical learning experiences. The program requires students to complete 62-63 total credits determined by the program curriculum. Refer to the curriculum sheet for specific details or contact the surgical technology program coordinator for more information.
• Laboratory experiences are held on campus in our surgical lab. There are occasional field trips that are taken to observe hospital operating room departments prior to clinical externship experiences.
• Students will sit for their certification exam at the completion of their capstone course on campus.

What are the clinical externship case requirements?

Students must complete a minimum of 120 cases as delineated below: (Note: to ensure each student meets our accreditation and graduation requirement SSC asks each student to complete 130+ scrub cases.)

1. General Surgery
   1. A student must complete a minimum of 30 cases in General Surgery
      1. 20 of these cases must be performed in the FIRST SCRUB (FS) or solo (SS) role
      2. The remaining 10 cases may be performed in either the FS or the SS role
         1. Students who complete more than 30 General Surgery cases in either the FS or SS role will still count toward the total required 130 cases.
2. Specialty Surgery
   1.  A student must complete a minimum of 90 cases in various surgical specialties, excluding General Surgery
      1. 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 10 cases in five (our program requirement) (four-is accreditation requirement) different specialties must be completed in the FS role (for a total of 50 cases).
         2. The additional 20 cases in the FS role may be distributed amongst any one surgical specialty or multiple specialties.
      2. The remaining 30 scrub cases may be performed in any surgical specialty in either the FS or SS role.
3. Diagnostic endoscopy cases may be counted up to a total of 10 of the required 130 cases. This cannot be counted as one of the five 5) different required specialties as described above.

Surgical specialties (excluding General Surgery)

1. Cardiothoracic
2. Genitourinary
3. Neurologic
4. Obstretic and Gynecologic
5. Ophthalmologic
6. Oral/Maxillofacial
7. Orthopedic
8. Otorhinolaryngologic
9. Peripheral Vascular
10. Plastics and Reconstructive
11. Procurement and Transplant

What is the mission and goal of the program?

• Mission
  • The mission of the surgical technology program is to provide an affordable, yet valuable education dedicated to academic excellence and additionally provide the fundamental skills and tools to produce a competent certified surgical technologist.
• Goal
  • The goal of the program is to provide students with the opportunity to develop the skills and knowledge necessary to gain employment as entry-level surgical technologists and become contributing members of the surgical healthcare team. This will be accomplished by preparing the students in the cognitive, psychomotor, and affective learning domains.

Is Stark State’s Surgical Technology Program accredited?  What are the program outcomes?

Graduates of Stark State College’s Surgical technology program are awarded an associate of applied science degree.  The program is accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs (CAAHEP), https://caahep.org/.

Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs
25400 US Highway 19N, Suite 158
Clearwater, Florida 33763
Phone:  727-210-2350
Fax:  727-210-2354

CAAHEP is the organization that grants accreditation to Surgical technology programs in the United States.  To achieve this end, it utilizes an “outcomes based” process.  Programmatic outcomes are performance based indicators that reflect the extent to which the educational goals of the program are achieved and by which programs effectiveness is documented.

What are the eligibility requirements to apply to the program?

• Overall GPA of 2.5 or higher
• B or higher in Intro to Anatomy and Physiology, or, C or better in BIO121, BIO122 or BIO123
• B or higher in MTH 092 or math proficiency, or, C or better in college level math course
• Background check

Note: Students must be at least 18 years old and a high school graduate or equivalency to start taking technical courses.

See application details at surgical technology application

Is Stark State College an equal opportunity institution?

• Stark State College is committed to equal opportunity for all and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, gender, national origin, military status, pregnancy, disability, age, genetic information, or sexual orientation.

How do I apply to the program?

• Apply to Stark State College
• Meet with an admissions counselor
• Print the surgical technology application from the website.
• After the first semester, contact your program advisor for assistance with scheduling.
• Complete the above course and GPA requirements.
• Complete required background checks
• When you have completed all application requirements, contact the surgical technology program coordinator for an appointment to review your application at 330-966-5458.
• You must bring the completed application and background check eligibility notification to the appointment.

What are some important things I should know?

• Students must maintain a “C” or better in all courses in the curriculum (technical and non-technical).
• Students may not be able to be placed at clinical sites or find employment if they have a positive background check. See health and public services criminal background check information for a list of potential disqualifying offenses.
• You may have difficulty finding a job if you smoke.

Are there essential functions required to participate in the program?

Surgical Technologist must have the necessary clinical skills to carry out the duties and responsibilities allowing them to practice in a safe and effective manner. Surgical Technologist make use of the following: hearing, mobility, physical endurance and strength, motor skills, tactile senses, and visual acuity.

Hearing
Ability sufficient to hear and understand patients and staff, assess and monitor patient sounds,  hear normal speech, hear without seeing lips, hear faint body sounds, hear alarms.

Mobility – physical endurance and strength
Mobility sufficient to support and move patients, stoop/squat, move quickly, climb/bend, lift 25 pounds of weight, push light equipment, push heavy equipment, walk, stand during procedures, sustain repetitive motion.

Motor skills
Perform multiple tasks at the same time. Fine and gross motor skills sufficient to handle equipment and provide safe and effective patient care, steady arm and hand movements while manipulating objects or assisting patients. Sit and maintain balance, stand and maintain balance, reach above shoulders, reach below waist, pick up small objects with hands, type using a computer.

Tactile
The ability to sense and or touch in a manner sufficient to assess the patient’s response to therapy. Feel vibrations, detect temperature (determine changes, warm, cold).

Visual
A sufficient ability to monitor and assess patients and equipment function, to have visual acuity in order to provide safe and effective respiratory care. See objects 20 inches away, see objects 20 feet away, distinguish color.

Should a student feel that he/she may not be able to meet the technical standards or physical requirements, it is the responsibility of the student to notify the program director/department chair and the Disability Support Services Office.