ST115 Introduction to Surgical Technology (3 cr.)

This course provides the student with a broad background of today’s American health care industry and the role of health care providers with an emphasis on surgical technology. Specific topics include the history of the development of surgery as a medical specialty, health care delivery systems and facilities, hospital organization and management, introduction to the surgical team, the role and function of surgical technologists, and the ethical, moral, and legal responsibilities applicable to implementing standards of care. The course includes in-depth discussion of a patient’s emotional and physical response to illness and surgery. In addition the student is introduced to the physical layout of an operating room, including furniture, proper attire, and traffic patterns and to the chemical, biological, and physical hazards.

Upon completion of this course, students are expected to be able to do the following:

1. Describe how infection control practices are implemented in the surgical setting to ensure safe patient care.
2. Identify the basic principles of aseptic technique.
3. Describe the various means used to disinfect, sterilize, and monitor surgical instruments and supplies for use in the operating room.
4. Demonstrate the correct method of scrubbing, gowning, and gloving self and other members of the surgical team.
5. Demonstrate the proper methods to transfer and safely position the patient.
6. Describe and demonstrate the preparation of a sterile surgical field, including the proper technique to maintain sterility when receiving or removing equipment supplies from the field.
7. Describe the purpose and use of surgical drapes and demonstrate proper draping techniques for surgical equipment and the surgical patient for a variety of surgical procedures.
8. Correctly prepare and handle surgical supplies.
9. Identify basic surgical instruments by type, function and name and demonstrate the proper care, safe handling and assembly of surgical instruments classifications include cutting, grasping, clamping, retracting, probing, suturing, scoping, dilating and dissecting.
10. Identify suture materials and demonstrate proper preparation and handling techniques.
11. Demonstrate correct handling of needles and syringes.
12. Describe common means of establishing hemostasis.
13. Demonstrate the proper care of handling of specimens.
14. Describe the role of surgical technologist in responding to life-threatening emergencies in the operating room.