Technical colleges to extend surgical technology program nationwide

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Tri-County Technical College’s surgical technology program will offer associate degrees instead of diplomas starting August 2021.

“I’m so excited. This has been a long time coming,” Denelle White, surgical technology program director, said in a news release. “We have been working toward this since I joined the college three years ago.”

Surgical technology programs in technical schools across the country will be required to extend to a two-year program according to standards set by the Accreditation Review Council on Education in Surgical Technology and Surgical Assisting.

“Graduates really do need the additional knowledge and skills,” White said in the release. “New surgical procedures are developed every day and technology is advancing so quickly. Additional classes will prepare our graduates for today’s workplace and help to ensure quality patient care and optimal surgical outcomes for patients. We want the competencies of all surgical technologists to be at the highest level. As the Association of Surgical Technologist motto states, ‘Aeger Primo,’ or the patient first.”

Two new surgical technology classes — surgical procedure and biomedical science — will be added to the curriculum, along with additional general education courses, transfer-level English and math courses, Biology 101, Microbiology 225, anatomy and physiology, according to the release.