SFC Graduates 18 Surgical Technologists Aug. 13

August 12, 2009

"When people ask me what I do, I tell them I teach people how to pass knives," says Diane May, clinical coordinator of the Surgical Technology program at Santa Fe College. "Most patients don't even know there's a surgical technologist in the OR."

May will get the satisfaction of seeing 18 of her students graduate at 6 p.m. Thursday, Aug.13, at the Surgical Technology Pinning Ceremony. The pinning will be held in the W Annex, room 104, at Santa Fe's Northwest campus, 3000 NW 83rd St.

"We are very fortunate that a large percentage of these graduates have already been offered jobs, especially with economy the way it is and with Shands at AGH closing," said May. "We are very proud of our students."

Her students get hands-on training — literally — at eight operating rooms in Gainesville that serve as clinical sites. They will spend a total of 600 hours in operating rooms passing instruments on approximately 200 surgical cases during the 14-month certificate program.

In addition to its own students, Santa Fe also helped 14 working surgical technologists prepare for the national licensing exam in surgical technology. Those individuals will be present on Thursday as well to receive a certificate of completion for the exam review course.

The Surgical Technology program has been in existence at SFC since January 1996 and will have graduated a total of about 200 students with the addition of Thursday's graduates.

Program candidates must have a high school diploma or GED, and are required to complete three classes before entering the program or during the first summer of the program (Anatomy and Physiology, Introduction to Health Sciences, and Medical Terminology).

The application deadline is March 31, 2010 for the next class of surgical technologists, who will begin their studies in May 2010.

For more information about the program, please contact Paul Stephan at 395-5706 or email to paul.stepahn@sfcollege.edu.

CONTACT

• For more information about the program and the pinning ceremony, contact Clinical Coordinator Diane May, 281-2463 (cell)
• For help facilitating your story, contact Julie Garrett, 395-5430 or 870-2924 (cell) or julie.garrett@sfcollege.edu