50 BRAND STORY PRODUCED BY THE OREGON BUSINESS MARKETING DEPARTMENT Caption 1 BY VANESSA SALVIA For students interested in a hands-on career in the medical field, Linn-Benton Community College is introducing an associate’s degree program in surgical technology this fall. The program prepares students to become certified surgical technologists, an in-demand role assisting in surgical procedures. “Surgical technologists are the eyes and ears in the operating room,” says Rachel Bruce, director of the surgical technology program at LBCC and creator of the program. “We ensure everyone adheres to aseptic technique and operates within the set surgical standards during a surgical procedure.” As part of the surgical team, surgical technologists perform crucial tasks like preparing the operating room, opening sterile supplies, troubleshooting equipment, counting instruments, sponges, and other surgical supplies, and directly assisting surgeons during procedures. They are the only members of the surgical team that have been specifically trained to maintain the sterile surgical environment.” LBCC’s ST program was created in response to the law passed by the state of Oregon in 2017, which requires STs to be nationally certified. This means that ST students in Oregon must complete an educational program approved by the Oregon Health Authority to meet certification testing requirements. In 2017, LBCC developed a certificate program with a distance component to better serve Oregonians in rural areas. In 2022, the accreditors, the Accreditation Review Council on Education in Surgical Technology and Surgical Assisting (ARC/STSA), passed a new guideline that all surgical techs graduating from an accredited program must have an associate’s degree to sit for the CST exam. The LBCC program is one of three accredited ST programs in the state of Oregon, and the only one outside of Portland. LBCC’s program stands out with a mostly online curriculum of lectures with once-a-week hands-on lab sessions on campus. Bruce does her best to place students at hospitals and surgical centers for clinical rotations near where the students live, in their community and where they want to work when they’re done. First-term lecture classes of the associate’s degree program can be viewed in person or via Zoom. Students learn the basics of Linn-Benton Community College Launches New Program to Train Surgical Technologists “Surgical technologists are the eyes and ears in the operating room. We ensure everyone adheres to aseptic technique and operates within the set surgical standards during a surgical procedure.” RACHEL BRUCE, DIRECTOR OF THE SURGICAL TECHNOLOGY PROGRAM AT LBCC Rachel Bruce, director of the program PHOTOS BY JASON E. KAPLAN
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