Surgical Technology

 Outcomes Assessment Exam [CST Exam] Pass Rate Analysis:

Applicants to the professional program MUST:

• complete general admissions procedures for the college (if not already a student here) SouthArk Admissions
• provide an official copy of high school or GED Equivalency with a transcript, or official college transcript if applicable
• complete all necessary basic studies requirements according to placement tests
• complete Surgical Technology Application
• submit 3 Reference Letters
• meet with the Surgical Technology advisor
• enrollment is limited to 10 students per year. Student selection is based on:
  • Cumulative GPA
  • GPA for prerequisite courses 
• successfully complete prerequisites with a 2.0 GPA ("C") or better in each of the following (9):

Must be completed before entry

• Anatomy I and Lab I
• Anatomy II and Lab II
• Microbiology
• Medical Terminology

Up to two of these may be completed while in the program

• Composition I
• Composition II
• Introduction to Computers
• General Psychology
• Math for Health Professionals.

Upon acceptance to the program:

• submit an unencumbered drug screen upon request
• submit a background check
• provide proof of current American Heart Association CPR Certification - Health Care Provider (scheduled in program)
• provide proof of PPD skin test, IGRA test or chest X-ray if positive PPD test or unable to submit to skin test
• provide proof of Hepatitis B immunization series
• provide proof of immunity to varicella. Proof may consist of 1) proof of vaccination, 2) a statement of a physician verifying that the student had varicella, or 3) varicella antibody titer indicating immunity.
• proof of current Influenza Virus Vaccination
• provide a physical examination form completed by a health care provider documenting good physical and mental health upon being admitted

Academic Progression-Students must complete all components of surgical technology courses with a grade of “C” (78%) or higher to progress to the following semester. Each preceding semester is a prerequisite to the following semester. Courses are sequenced so that material covered in subsequent courses is based on that covered in previous courses.

Any exception to this sequence is determined by the program director on an individual case-by-case basis.

Disclosure Statement for Vaccinations, Immunizations, and/or Testing/Screening Required by Clinical, Practicum, Fieldwork and/or Internship/Externship Sites

Students currently in, entering into, or applying for entry into any health science program at South Arkansas College must understand that:

1. Successful completion of the clinical, practicum, fieldwork, and/or internship/externship program component is a requirement for graduation from these programs;
2. Clinical, practicum, fieldwork, and/or internship/externship sites require students to have received certain vaccinations, immunizations, possibly including the Covid-19 vaccination, and to have successfully passed testing/screenings such as a drug screen and a criminal background check, in order to be allowed to attend clinical, etc., in their facility.
   • Some facilities do not allow students to attend clinical, etc., in their facility until after the student has fully completed the Covid-19 vaccination doses recommended by the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention).
3. Therefore, if the student has not received or completed the vaccinations and immunizations, including a complete Covid-19 vaccination (if applicable), and successfully passed testing/screenings that are required by the clinical, practicum, fieldwork, and/or internship/externship site(s) and has not yet successfully completed these required program components, the student will not graduate from the program.
4. Successful graduation from the applicable health science program is required in order to sit for the profession’s licensure, certification, registration, etc., examination.
5. The program graduate will not be able to work in the applicable health science profession if he/she is not licensed, certified, registered, etc., in the profession.

Goal Statement: The goal of the Surgical Rotation Case Requirements is to contribute to the development of a well-rounded, competent, entry-level surgical technologist. As stated in CAAHEP Standard II. Program Goals, A. Minimum Expectations:
“To prepare competent entry-level surgical technologists in the cognitive (knowledge), psychomotor (skills), and affective (behavior) learning domains to enter the profession.”

Objectives:

1. The surgical technology program is required to verify through the surgical rotation documentation the students’ progression in the scrub role in surgical procedures of increased complexity as he/she moves towards entry-level graduate competency.

A. While it is understood that no program is able to control surgical case volume or the availability of various surgical specialties, it is the responsibility of the program to provide students with a diversified surgical rotation experience.

B. No information in this document prevents programs from exceeding the minimum established by the Surgical Rotation Case Requirements.

II. Students must complete a minimum of 120 cases as delineated below.

A. General Surgery cases

1. Students must complete a minimum of 30 cases in General Surgery; 20 which must be performed in the First Scrub Role. The remaining 10 cases may be performed in either the First or Second Scrub Role.

B. Specialty cases

1. Students must complete a minimum of 90 cases in various surgical specialties, excluding General Surgery; 60 which must be performed in the First Scrub Role. The additional 30 cases may be performed in either the First or Second Scrub Role.

a. A minimum of 60 surgical specialty cases must be performed in the First Scrub Role and distributed amongst a minimum of four surgical specialties.

(1) A minimum of 10 cases in the First Scrub Role must be completed in each of the required minimum of four surgical specialties (40 cases total required).

(2) The additional 20 cases in the First Scrub Role may be distributed amongst any one surgical specialty or multiple surgical specialties.

b. The remaining 30 surgical specialty cases may be performed in any surgical specialty either in the First or Second Scrub Role.

C. Optional surgical specialties

1. Diagnostic endoscopy cases and vaginal delivery cases are not mandatory. However, up to 10 diagnostic endoscopic cases and 5 vaginal delivery cases can be counted toward the maximum number of Second Scrub Role cases.

a. Diagnostic endoscopy cases must be documented in the category of “Diagnostic Endoscopy”, rather than by specialty.

b. Vaginal delivery cases must be documented in the category of “Labor & Delivery” rather than in the OB/GYN specialty.

D. Case experience in the Second Scrub Role is not mandatory.

E. Observation cases must be documented, but do not count towards the 120 required cases.

F. Counting cases

1. Cases will be counted and documented according to surgical specialty (exception being diagnostic endoscopic cases; refer to II. C.1.a. above).

2. Examples of counting cases

a. 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.

b. 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.

c. Endoscopic cases that convert to an open case (e.g.: Laparoscopic Cholecystectomy converted to an Open Cholecystectomy) are counted and documented as one (1) procedure—one case

All activities associated with the program, including student and faculty recruitment, student admission, and faculty employment practices, must be non-discriminatory and in accord with federal and state statures, rules, and regulations. There must be faculty grievance procedure made known to all paid faculty.

Fee Schedule 2022

Approximate Costs for the SouthArk Surgical Technology Program

*Per Credit Hour

In-District .................. $84

Out-of-District........... $97

Out-of-State ............... $172