Resource Highlight - The Association of Surgical Technologists
With surgical technology as one of the fastest growing professions in the American economy, the importance of a solid foundation of education and professional support is likely to continue to grow. The Association of Surgical Technologists is the oldest active professional organization focused on providing that support for surgical technologists and surgical assistants across the country.
Formed in 1969 by members of three other medical professional organizations, the Association of Surgical Technologists emerged as surgeons developed ever more sophisticated techniques. This led to the growth of a dedicated medical staff to handle the increasingly demanding job of assisting in surgical procedures. The AST’s founders recognized the trend relatively early, and it predated the accreditation body for surgical technologists, the National Board of Surgical Technology and Surgical Assisting, by five years.
As a result, the organization has been involved in several of the occupation’s educational and professional requirements, such as establishing the associate’s degree as the preferred level of education for new staff and lobbying for state and federal regulations requiring an accredited education and certification as conditions for hiring.
The AST still plays a role in setting educational standards for the profession, working to build continuing education opportunities for practicing surgical technologists and surgical assistants. Its annual conferences include workshops for educators and instructors, while separate annual instructors forums are planned through at least 2016. AST members can access scholarships and career information, while educators can find presentations, articles and other instructional materials that can be used in the development of lesson plans.
Many of these resources can be valuable to surgical professionals themselves. In addition to publishing the monthly journal, The Surgical Technologist, The AST provides a selection of newsletters and solicits articles and letters from members. These resources, plus an online discussion board, help to facilitate communication between working surgical technologists and surgical assistants.
Advocacy in the field of public policy is still a major part of the AST’s mission as well. The organization maintains a legislative map for members detailing state-by-state information about laws and regulations governing the profession, along with alerts concerning current legislative actions and advocacy tools that members can use to engage with policymakers. It also maintains a list of articles detailing public policy news concerning developments related to the field, with a special section dedicated to the 2010 health care reform law.
Some of these resources are available to interested members of the general public, but others are reserved specifically for members of the AST. For instance, membership grants access to a dozen continuing education programs that can count for up to 20 percent of a practitioner’s certification renewal, along with free archiving of continuing education credits and discounts on the certification exam. Other resources, such as annual salary information, legislative monitoring and lobbying tools and a free subscription to its monthly journal, are made available as well.
With America’s baby boomers approaching retirement, the AST envisions the profession of surgical technology expanding to meet the needs of a large and aging population. According to AgingStats.gov, a federal interagency program to track aging-related statistics, men and women at age 65 can now expect to live at least into their eighties, while heart disease and cancer remain leading causes of death. The medical environment is therefore likely to feature increased demand for both vital and elective surgeries that push the boundaries of what modern technology and training make possible. The resources offered by the AST are geared toward expanding those boundaries.