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May 05
Liaison
Council
on Certification for the Surgical Technologist
For more information on Liaison Council
on Certification for the Surgical Technologist
call 800-707-0057 or visit www.lcc-st.org.
Most
professionals agree two essentials are needed
for teamwork and professionalism –
communication and certification.
“Everyone has a role in the operating
room,” says Sandra Edwards, Certified
Surgical Technologist. “The surgical
technologist gets the instruments ready
and preps for the surgery. They really are
there to support the surgeon. There has
to be a cooperative atmosphere.”
Strong personalities can dominate the OR,
as the professionals are often required
to make split-second decisions. Each person
on the team can have an opinion about what’s
best for the patient.
“Operating room personnel are a different
breed,” says Paul Price, CST and Executive
Director of the Liaison Council on Certification
for the Surgical Technologist. “Communication
is the only way to get beyond the personality
issues and do what’s best for the patient.”
For Price, the most important step toward
creating an air of cooperation and professionalism
in the OR is certification. Each member
of the team should be certified by a professional
body – and surgical technologists are
no exception, he says.
“Certification is a step surgical technologists
should take immediately after graduation,”
he says. “It shows everyone –
from the surgeon to the circulating nurse
– that the surgical technologist is
skilled and professional. Certification
gives a surgical technologist that sense
of pride.”
Communication doesn’t always come easy
for Operating Room personnel, says Spencer
Byrum, vice president of Crew Training International
in Memphis, Tenn. His company teaches medical
professionals methods of communicating effectively,
both with the patient and as a team.
“The single biggest component to doing
a better job inside the operating room is
communicating better,” Byrum says.
“If everyone does a better job of explaining
what they expect, what their responsibilities
are, it’s better for patients. Surgery
will go faster; there will be fewer surprises.”
Listening is the first step in communicating
well. Too often, Byrum says people are focused
on the task at hand and don’t listen
to what others on the team are saying.
In addition, effective communication is
clear, timely and solution driven. If there
is a concern, medical professionals should
speak clearly and propose a solution to
the problem.
“It sounds rudimentary,” he says.
“But it’s important. If everyone
has the right information, then the outcome
is better for the patient.”
But what happens when professionals fail
to cooperate or argue over responsibilities
and territory? Often surgical staff vie
for responsibility in the OR, with surgical
technologists and scrub nurses squabbling
over their roles. Can personnel issues spill
over into the operating suite?
Not necessarily. Byrum stresses that communication
and standardized procedures are the answer
to efficiency for the OR team as a whole.
Standardized procedures are an issue that
the LCC-ST is working to create by advocating
mandatory certification before surgical
technologists are hired for the operating
room. More than half certified surgical
technologists work in hospital operating
rooms, and passing the certification exam
is a hallmark of a professional employee.
“We are working toward mandatory certification,”
Price says. “We are supporting legislation
in several states and have testified in
others that have already passed licensing
or mandatory certification bills for surgical
technologists and surgical assistants. The
final outcome is to do what benefits the
patient; and we know that Certified Surgical
Technologists are better equipped to deal
with the uncertain atmosphere in the OR.”
Byrum agrees that recognition of standardized
procedures and processes improves patient
care. A former pilot, he compares standards
of care in the OR to the standards pilots
employ before flying.
“In aviation, you cannot fly without
doing certain things. We have procedures
and checklists. Because they are there,
they are written down; often they are checked
and double-checked. It makes a huge difference
in the number of aviation accidents. It
can make the same difference in the OR.”
Unfortunately, medical practices vary from
hospital to hospital. Some hospitals demand
certified employees, others do not. Often,
methods vary widely. Byrum believes the
way to increase the success rate of any
given procedure is to write down the way
the job is always done.
“If you can take some of the best practices
from another industry and apply it in medicine,
the benefits are incredible,” he says.
“If there are standardized procedures
in place for all the labs that are done,
for all the forms that are completed, then
you are not rushing. Doctors and their staff
can focus on the case, instead of on the
paperwork. That translates into better quality
of care for the patient.
Cindy Crum, a Certified Surgical Technologist
as well as a Certified Operating Room Nurse,
says that the procedural issues in the OR
occur as job descriptions evolved.
“Surgical technologists have a very
important job, but in many states they don’t
have a license,” she explained. “There
are some little issues between the techs
and the circulating nurses that have evolved
over the yeas. To keep those issues to a
minimum, everyone needs a clarification
of what’s acceptable and what’s
not.”
Being prepared in the key to success, many
surgical technologists believe. People need
to know their responsibilities – and
stay one step ahead.
Both Price and Crum also recommend that
surgical technologists take certifying examinations
before entering the operating room. The
LCC-ST is responsible for testing and certifying
surgical technologists and issues the CST
credential to those who have completed a
properly accredited educational program
and successfully undergone the rigorous
four-hour exam.
“We push hard for certification,”
she says. “I’d like to see more
hospitals and employers go for mandatory
certification. But as there are shortages
in the field, many hospitals relax their
standards just to get the positions filled.”
Certification assures both the patient and
the surgeon that their operating room staff
possess important knowledge that will create
successful outcomes in the OR.
“It’s important because it shows
people that you have the practical knowledge
to go with the skills,” Price says.
“It’s up to the surgical technologist
to apply that knowledge in the OR.”
To meet certification requirements, surgical
technologists must renew their certification
every four years by meeting continuing education
requirements set by the LCC-ST and the Association
of Surgical Technologists. Those requirements
assure that surgical technologists are up-to-date
on the latest medical advances that affect
their career and their performance in the
OR.
Byrum also advocates certification. He believes
every medical professional should be required
to update their knowledge and be evaluated
on a regular basis, just as pilots go through
annual testing.
“In any given year, pilots can undergo
three possibly career-ending evaluations,”
he says. “And it should be the same
for medical professionals. The testing and
evaluation should occur throughout their
careers. Patients want to know their doctors
and surgical teams are up to date on the
procedures.”
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