The Surgical Technology program offers students the education required to become a highly skilled member of the surgical team. The surgical technologist performs scrub and/or circulating duties which include: passing instruments and supplies to the surgical team members, preparing and positioning the patient, operating equipment, assisting the anesthesiologist, and keeping accurate records. Study includes clinical experience in hospital settings.

Graduates of the Surgical Technology program may find employment in hospitals, with private physicians and in the armed forces, where they work in cooperation with physicians, registered nurses, and other team members. Statistics indicate that those graduates seeking employment have a 100 percent placement rate.

An associate in applied science degree is available in the Surgical Technology program. Graduates are eligible to take the National Certification Examination and become Certified Surgical Technologists (C.S.T.). The program is accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs (CAAHEP). Program Philosophy The faculty of the Surgical Technology Program of Ivy Tech Community College, Northwest Region, believe that surgical technology is the application of a knowledge base in meeting the physical, psychological, social and spiritual needs of patients in the health care setting.

The Certified Surgical Technologist is a uniquely qualified member of the health care team. Consistent with the philosophy of the Ivy Tech Community College, the faculty of the Ivy Tech-Northwest Surgical Technology Program accept the responsibility for the effective teaching of students through correlation of theory and practice in preparing competent entry-level surgical technologists in the cognitive (knowledge), psychomotor (skills), and affective (behavior) learning domains.

The faculty define education as a teaching-learning process whereby the assimilation of appropriate knowledge, skills, behaviors, and attitudes is guided toward producing a professionally accountable graduate surgical technologist who will deliver optimum quality care in accordance with the Association of Surgical Technologists Standards of Practice meeting the needs of patients, physicians and the community.

The faculty view surgical technology as a process of assisting society to meet optimal health care needs. The surgical technologist contributes to the well-being of the patient by demonstrating professional competency in assisting the surgeon, registered nurse, and anesthesiologist in the care of the patient in any setting where invasive therapeutic or diagnostic procedures are performed.

The education of the surgical technologist through lectures, laboratory and clinical experience, provides the student with the opportunity to apply knowledge, skills, and attitudes in the giving of competent, safe care to patients within the limits for which the technologist has been prepared.

The faculty view the surgical technologist as an individual who is uniquely qualified to serve the patient in any setting where invasive therapeutic or diagnostic procedures are performed. Professional competence is evidenced by comprehension of principles of asepsis and patient care, demonstration of proficiency in the skills required to fulfill the role of surgical technologist and development of behaviors demonstrative of an adherence to the Code of Ethics of the Association of Surgical Technologists.