College of DuPage Offers New Surgical Assistant Certificate

GLEN ELLYN, Ill., April 6, 2015 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- College of DuPage is the first college or university in the state of Illinois to offer the Surgical Assistant Certificate that will provide students with the experience and knowledge to advance within the surgical technologist field.

Recently approved by the Illinois Community College Board, the Surgical Assistant Certificate is an online program that allows students to continue working while pursuing their coursework. Students must be a Certified Surgical Technologist, Certified Nurse Operating Room (CNOR), or be a nurse with two years of operating room experience. The College is also pursuing program accreditation through the Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs.

"In addition to College of DuPage being the first school to offer this program in the state of Illinois, our Surgical Assistant Certificate program is on track to become only the eighth CAAHEP-approved program in the country," said Erin Birt, chairman of the College's Board of Trustees. "This shows our quick responsiveness to fill a growing need for certified surgical assistants."

Kathy Cabai, coordinator and professor of Surgical Technology, said hospitals and health organizations that once trained employees for positions such as surgical assistants are now turning to higher education to provide that knowledge and prepare graduates to take exams for mandatory national certification.

"Surgical assistants perform preoperative, postoperative and intraoperative functions that better facilitate proper patient care and help surgeons carry out safe surgical procedures for optimal results," she said. "These procedures include closing, suturing, cauterizing, preparing bone and tissue for grafting, harvesting veins, and post-op pain management. Specialties with the highest need for surgical assistants are general surgery, OBGYN, plastics, cardiovascular and orthopedics."

The 42-credit hour program is offered entirely online, with a one-week suture lab required on campus and a clinical that students can arrange near their residences or workplace. Cabai said this format mirrors existing programs across the country.

"Another benefit of this program is that it provides a career ladder-approach for the surgical technology field," Cabai said. "We offer the Central Processing Distribution Technician certificate, Surgical Technology degree and certificate program, and now the Surgical Assistant certificate. This certificate makes an individual more marketable, because the OR environment is looking for employees with a multitude of credentials for potential cross-training opportunities."

For more information, call (630) 942-2259, email [email protected] or visit www.cod.edu/programs/surgical.

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SOURCE College of DuPage