Surgical Technology (A.S.)
Associate in Science
BCC Program Advisor: Chris Aylesworth, DVM
413-236-2107 • caylesworth@berkshirecc.edu
McCann Program Advisor: Jocelyne Hescock 413-663-5383, ext. 180 • jhescock@mccanntech.org
Note: Surgical Technology Studies (AHS-171) is offered only at McCann Technical School.
The number of surgical procedures is expected to continue to rise as the population continues to grow and age, creating an increase in employment opportunities for surgical technologists.
—U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Surgical technologists work in the sterile environment with surgeons, anesthesia personnel and nurses in delivering surgical patient care. Scrub surgical technologists prepare the surgical environment by selecting and assembling sterile supplies and equipment, preparing and maintaining the sterile field through- out surgery, and anticipating the needs of the surgical team by passing instruments and sterile items in an efficient manner. Surgical technologists are employed in hospital-based operating room settings, outpatient surgical centers, maternity units, emergency rooms, central sterile reprocessing units and in the medical sales field.
McCann’s program includes components of the basic sciences, operating room practices and procedures, safe patient care, operating room technique, surgical procedures and clinical practice. This will be accomplished by preparing competent graduates in the cognitive, psychomotor and affective domains of learning and meeting or exceeding the criteria set forth in the current Standards and Guidelines for an accredited program in surgical technology.
Established in 1963, the McCann surgical technology program is accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs (CAAHEP) (www.caahep.org) upon the recommendation of the Accreditation Review Council on Education and Surgical Technology and Surgical Assisting (www.arcst.org). McCann graduates are eligible to sit for the national board exam given by the National Board of Surgical Technology and Surgical Assisting (www.nbstsa.org). In 1990, the Association of Surgical Technologists, Inc., declared the associate degree to be the preferred educational model for entry level practice.
Students enrolled in the McCann program may begin to take BCC courses concurrent with their surgical technology course- work and then continue as full- or part-time students to complete required BCC courses for the associate degree. Other students may wish to pursue some or all of the associate degree requirements at BCC before applying to McCann for the surgical technology program. Previous graduates of the McCann program are encouraged to contact BCC for specific advising regarding the courses necessary to qualify for the associate degree.
Graduation Requirements
To earn a degree in this program, a student must complete all program and general education credits, plus the following Additional Requirements.
Program Courses
| AHS-103 | Nutritional Awareness | 1 |
AHS-171
| | |
| AHS-121 | Essentials of Pharmacology | 3 |
| BIO-150 | Introduction to the Human Body | 3 |
| BIO-207 | Microbiology | 4 |
| Total Credit Hours: | 43 |
General Education Courses
| CHM-150 | Essentials of Chemistry | 3 |
COM-
| Communication | 3 |
ENG-
| English Composition/Writing | 6 |
| MAT-136 | Mathematics for the Health Sciences | 3 |
| PSY-107 | Introductory Psychology | 3 |
-
| General Education Elective | 3 |
| Total Credit Hours: | 21 |
General Education Elective: See footnote 2
Additional Requirements
| Core Competencies Portfolio |
4 items |
| FORUM |
4 units |
| Health/Fitness |
3.30 hours |
Current LCC-ST Certification or Certification Eligibility
| Minimum Cumulative Average Overall |
2.000 |
Health/Fitness: See footnote 3
Suggested Pathway to Graduation
The actual time needed to complete the program will vary according to each student’s individual needs.
Required
Footnotes — Surgical Technology Option
- Surgical Technology Studies are only offered at McCann Technical School in North Adams, Massachusetts.
- General Education Elective chosen from History, Humanities, or Fine Arts.
- Fulfilled by successful completion of AHS-171.