Is there any open courseware available for online surgical technologist courses?

There is a host of relevant surgical technologist courses available through open courseware from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Johns Hopkins University. These courses will provide additional information for students taking accredited surgical technology online courses as well as courses in traditional programs.

MIT also offers “Design of Medical Devices and Implants”, which examines the use of implants and other medical devices as well as how the shapes and sizes of surgical instruments affect operations.

Another relevant course is “Noninvasive Imaging in Biology and Medicine”, which introduces different applications of noninvasive imagining in brain surgeries.

Students might also find MIT’s “Musculoskeletal Pathophysiology” useful. As anatomy is a key subject reviewed in surgical technology training programs, this course covers the structure of normal bones and joints and the biomechanics of bone connective tissues.

Lastly, Johns Hopkins University’s “Health Information Technology Standards and System Interoperability” examines current health information technology standards, which are essential to know when pursuing surgical technologist jobs.

What blogs or other online resources might be useful in my surgical technologist courses?

There is an array of informative blogs and online resources available to students pursuing surgical technologist classes online or on campus.

Pearson Education offers a glossary of applicable terms used by surgical technologists today as well as useful demonstration videos. The website can accompany Operating Room Skills: Fundamentals for the Surgical Technologist or be consulted on its own as a general study guide.

Northeast Wisconsin Technical College’s Surgical Technology Program Guide frequently updates an RSS feed on surgical procedures, links to important organizations such as the Association of Surgical Assistants and Surgical Technologists and provides video blogs of surgeries.

San Joaquin Valley College, Fresno Surgical Technology runs an informative blog on surgical technology and includes relevant videos, learning modules and educational pictures as study guides for students.

Surgical Tech Success, founded in 2005 by a nationally certified surgical technologist and author of Surgical Tech Success Handbook, is a useful resource for current students in surgical technology. The site maintains an updated surgical tech handbook, an ongoing list of best surgical technologist courses as well as top surgical technology online courses, an updated listing of surgical technologist jobs and relevant news.

What magazines or journals can I read while I study in my offline or online surgical technologist classes?

Students can choose from a wide selection of publications that they might find useful while enrolled in surgical technologist classes online or on campus.

Surgical Technology International is an online journal that publishes the latest developments in surgical operative techniques and technologies. Sections in the journal include articles on wound healing, general surgery, procedural innovations, hernia repair, gynecology and orthopedic surgery.

The Surgical Technologist is the official journal of the Association of Surgical Technologists (AST) and is free to all AST members. Each monthly issue contains an accompanying exam that students can use to earn continuing education credit as well as articles on certification, accreditation, technological innovations and legislative activities.

Surgical Innovation focuses on the rise of new technologies in the surgical field today. Each issue presents an array of carefully researched articles from surgical practitioners and includes subjects like vascular surgery, head and neck surgery, urology and cardiothoracic surgery.

Surgical Products is an interactive, online magazine that covers current technological inventions and instruments used in operation rooms. Topics include the use of streaming video systems in operation rooms, advancements in suturing materials and helping surgeons and staff maintain cool heads during surgeries.