TJC has received the annual merit award from the National Board of Surgical Technology and Surgical Assisting.
Recent graduates of the TJC program achieved a 100-percent pass rate on the Certified Surgical Technologist examination.
“Thirteen students graduated from our surgical technology program in May 2016 and they all passed the Surgical Technology National Certification Exam,” said Sherry Seaton, director of the TJC surgical technology program.
Graduates obtaining national certification as a certified surgical tech must demonstrate their understanding of basic competencies for safe patient care in the operating room. The CST is widely recognized in the health care community as the nation’s foremost credential for surgical technologists.
Since the TJC Surgical Technology Program was established August 1999, a total of 165 students have passed through the program.
The TJC program has limited enrollment, accepts only 18-20 applicants each year and offers two educational options: a Certificate of Proficiency or an Associate of Applied Science degree. Applicants must complete certain prerequisite courses and take an aptitude test before applying to the program.
“It is a requirement of employment that you must be certified as a surgical technologist within six months of your hiring date, and our job placement rate has been very good over the years,” Seaton said.
“Our job placement rate was 100 percent in 2015. Employers of surgical technologists in the East Texas area and surrounding Metroplex areas seek out our program graduates because of what they have heard about the program.”
Seaton said satisfaction surveys are sent to all employers of TJC graduates and results have been overwhelmingly positive.
“We have a 95-percent satisfaction rate from employers, and we have a 100-percent satisfaction rate from our program graduates,” she said.
For more on the TJC Surgical Technology Program, go to www.tjc.edu/surgicaltech.