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Surgical technology program readies for new associate degree

Staff Report //August 17, 2020//

Surgical technology program readies for new associate degree

Staff Report //August 17, 2020//

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Tri-Count Tech president Galen DeHay and Al Young, chairman of the school's commission, hand award to the surgical technology advisory committee members. (Photo/Provided)Tri-County Technical College’s Surgical Technology Advisory Committee was awarded the institution’s Committee of the Year award for the group’s leadership in preparing for the department’s new associate degree offering.

“This was a very ambitious undertaking,” Denelle White, director of Tri-County Technical College’s surgical technology program, said in a news release. “They reviewed the surgical technology program in detail. They completed numerous surveys, conducted critical tours of the surgical technology laboratory, collected vital information, gave important verbal reports to their hospital leadership and held critical conversations with the health education division dean pertaining to and in support of the transition, which was approved by college leadership and the commission.”

All surgical technology programs accredited under the Accreditation Review Council on Education in Surgical Technology and Surgical Assisting are expected to transition to a two-year program by 2021, the release said. For Tri-County Tech, that means additional coursework in surgical procedure, biomedical science and general education to prepare graduates for their work in hospital operating rooms, labor and delivery floors, ambulatory centers and doctors’ offices.

The school also renovated program laboratories and classrooms with new equipment.

“These additional classes will prepare our graduates for today’s workplace and help to ensure quality patient care and optimal surgical outcomes for patients,” White said.

Committee members Laura Bachlet, nurse manager of perioperative services at Oconee Memorial Hospital, Fran Kopnicky, a retired bank manager, and White accepted the award at the school’s virtual convocation Aug. 13.

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