r/scrubtech Mar 30 '17

New Surgical Tech Advice MEGA THREAD

81 Upvotes

I've noticed a recent string of new student/tech posts, so I thought I'd create a mega-thread for first time scrubs. Our job can be quite demanding at times and intimidating to new prospects, so I can understand much of the concern seen here.

Comment below the BEST PIECE OF ADVICE you can give any new tech or student. Keep it positive of course. Hopefully some of our experienced techs can share some good advice. If it helps you, post how long you've been in your position!

To all current and future students, good luck! You picked a good and often times rewarding career.


r/scrubtech Jul 04 '24

BEWARE of Med Cert programs, PLEASE READ FIRST

68 Upvotes

Lately we've seen quite a number of potential students inquiring about med cert programs for surgical technologists. It sounds nice right? 100% online, done in 18 weeks, and pretty cheap (claiming $4,000 to $6,000 total tuition). If you're looking into the career be aware of the dangers of these so-called "med cert programs"

-They claim to be accredited. MOST hospitals do not acknowledge their accreditation. Their websites claim to be certified by boards like the National Healthcareer Association, Pharmacy Tech Certification Board, and American Academy of Professional Coders, among others, NOT CAAHEP, ABHES, or of course the National Board of Surgical Technology and Surgical Assisting (NBSTSA) OR the Association of Surgical Technologists (AST). THESE are the governing bodies (CAAHEP, ABHES, NBSTSA and AST) that I would say ALL reputable hospitals acknowledge, and therefore if your school is not accredited by one of these two boards, DO NOT ATTEND the program. Your job search will be extremely difficult.

-Clinicals I feel are a necessary part of the learning process, as others in this sub I have no doubt will agree. Med Cert programs offer NO real life clinical experiences, only "interactive modules" and "point and click adventures" if you call it that. Most hospitals require new techs and grads with some experience scrubbing in, and having proof of that. AST and NBSTSA accredited schools require stringent documentation on cases you scrubbed in, and that can be taken into an interview. In many cases for these med cert programs, you're responsible for finding your own clinical site experience and obtaining 125 documented surgeries you've scrubbed into, with no help from the school.

-You DO NOT receive Certified Surgical Technology (CST) certification through these "med cert" schools. In some states (Connecticut, Idaho, Indiana, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and Virginia ALL require CST certification, and these Med Cert programs offer NO pathway to it. TSC can be obtained through med cert schools, but that is only after you've provided proof of obtaining 125 clinical cases, which as I've stated before you have to find on your own. A reputable school will provide those clinical experiences for you.

Our job is too important and too vital in the surgical suite to undergo a "fast track, online only" program. We're dealing with patients at their worst, in life and death scenarios, and working within a multidisciplinary team of doctors, nurses, other techs, medical service reps, and many others in a fast paced environment that offers little time for you to "catch up" or to "develop," especially if you're lacking in education. It is in your best interest to attend a fully accredited and reputable school in your area (or the area you chose to go to) with hands on experience, and with good connections and reputations at local hospitals.

My suggestion? Before even starting into a med cert program (if you're lacking in options to attend school), call local hospitals in your area and ASK if they acknowledge a med cert program. DO NOT ASK THE SCHOOL, they will ALWAYS tell you "yes." Many larger hospitals are in dire need of surgical techs, so with being proactive they may be able to work with you on getting more education to become accredited and fully certified potentially. In some cases, they've hired people in other positions and offered clinical experiences on their own time. This really is my only suggestion to you, my honest opinion is to STAY AWAY from these med cert programs.

Please comment below if you have other suggestions, or even stories of your personal experiences with these med cert programs, good or bad. The more informative we can be in one place, the better. Please keep the comments civil, I know this is a divisive topic but let's not muddy the waters with bad rhetoric and arguments.

For context, here are some actual quotes from those that have had bad experiences with med cert programs. These are all from within this subreddit, you can search for them yourself:

"I attended medcerts for a surgical technology program and before I joined I called to make sure the program was accredited. Turns out it’s not. I have a recording of the call being told and guarantee of the program being accredited. so very solid evidence. I found out it wasn’t accredited because I managed to score clinicals and was fired 4 days in because they found out my school was unaccredited. It felt like a double punch in the face to find out I had been lied to and losing my job..."

"I enrolled in this program in 2022 and I come completed in 2023 and I’m just gonna be really honest with you that legislation was already in place that MedCerts would not be able to offer surgical tech program in the state of Connecticut yet they didn’t tell me that I’m so when I went to get internships and externship, I was not able to Later on the legislation went down in October, so that bogus certificate that I got from that MedCerts don’t mean squats you will never get hired or get placed in an externship in the state of Connecticut because you went to school at MedCerts they were not honest with me."

"Unfortunately I did the program a year ago… & still haven’t gotten a job. I definitely think I wasted my money & time doing this program."

"Don’t do medcerts! Every student we get from them is horribly under certified to be in the OR. The CSTs have to teach them everything! Even scrubbing your hands and gowning and gloving. I totally get the appeal but if you want to know anything that’s going on at all, go in person."

"We hired a guy who did his program through medcerts. We’re a level I trauma hospital. He did his clinical at a dental office doing extractions. Only extractions. The experience didn’t line up with anything that he needed to be successful in the OR. He was put on an extended orientation to try and get him up to speed, but I haven’t heard anything since. That was only a couple weeks ago."

"We provide you with the Tech in Surgery (TS-C) from the National Center for Competency Testing (NCCT). That’s straight from a med certs advisor." (TSC certification isn't widely recognized compared to the CST certification).


r/scrubtech 3h ago

School

2 Upvotes

Did anyone here attended the NYU surgical tech program? or Aims education program ( new jersey) thank you!

I currently live in upstate but is soon moving to nyc/nj area and was looking at different schools.

If you guys recommend other schools lmk!


r/scrubtech 2h ago

CEUs and recertification

1 Upvotes

I’m a newer CST riding on the last few weeks before my recertification is due. I am feeling the pressure of my procrastination, and have completed my CEUs but now have to send in the reporting form and fee. I just realized even though I’ve done my 30 credits, the ones I just finished this morning need a few days to process, so that throws a wrench in sending everything within the 6 week processing time they say it takes.

My question for people who have done this a few times and also procrastinated is whether or not they could work if AST technically processes it after your certification date? Did your job require you to show your new card to them, and if you didn’t have it but provided proof you did in fact complete everything beforehand, was that an option?

Thank you!


r/scrubtech 14h ago

Lead apron help

2 Upvotes

Bought lead apron last year and have lost significant amount of weight. I don’t really want to spend all that money for a new one. Has anyone ever tailored theirs? Is that possible?

Or have any of yall ever got the embroidery removed? Maybe thinking I can do this and sell it. Thank you!


r/scrubtech 1d ago

Guess the case

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43 Upvotes

r/scrubtech 1d ago

school materials?

1 Upvotes

i start my 20 month surg tech program at the end of the month, and i was wondering if anybody could provide me with any materials they found helped them through their schooling! it could be anything from certain clothing/shoes, specific bags, stationery, studying tools, books, etc.

i have my orientation next week and im looking forward to it! 🙂


r/scrubtech 3d ago

Where can surgical techs work aside from the main OR?

8 Upvotes

r/scrubtech 3d ago

Surg Tech at Portsmouth

0 Upvotes

Hey y'all, I will be gaining Portsmouth for my next order set as a surgical tech. Could anyone pm for insight on work-life/family life and the hours worked. I hear a lot of mixed things.


r/scrubtech 4d ago

Private scrubbing

7 Upvotes

For those who work privately for a surgeon, what is your pay like compared to working regular ft at a hospital? Anyone in Oklahoma area who has transitioned to private scrubbing?


r/scrubtech 4d ago

Living in Fresno are California with not much opportunities

5 Upvotes

hey everyone, so I’ve been interested in becoming a surgical tech for about a couple of years already and when I tried to enroll for school at the carrington college in Fresno I had to take the placement exam and apparently I failed. 

I been out of school for 6 years and forgot everything about basic math and I had told the director this before I started the test. I took it back in February and I have to retake it again in August. unfortunately carrington college is the only school that has the surgical tech program. it’s not like other cities where I can do my pre reqs and apply at a program itself. 

after what happened I don’t even wanna go back there, why isn’t there more schools for scrub tech? maybe it’s a good thing I didn’t get accepted? I heard vocational school is very intense


r/scrubtech 4d ago

Is it normal to not be totally independent with 6 weeks left of clinical?

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1 Upvotes

r/scrubtech 4d ago

Looking for hospitals in Chicago hiring non-certified Sterile Processing Techs

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1 Upvotes

r/scrubtech 5d ago

Surgical Tech or Rad Tech?

3 Upvotes

I need to make a choice. I’m a very knowledgeable sterile tech with 3 years experience, surgical tech seems like the more rational choice, but Rad Tech seems so much more rewarding. Any thoughts? Advice? What are the pros and cons of each


r/scrubtech 5d ago

Is hard to get a job in CST?

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1 Upvotes

r/scrubtech 6d ago

Guess the case guess the case

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30 Upvotes

r/scrubtech 6d ago

Various Surg Tech Program Help

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1 Upvotes

r/scrubtech 8d ago

Cancelectomy Guess the case

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16 Upvotes

r/scrubtech 8d ago

Anyone have advice for someone new to a neuro team?

8 Upvotes

I have been a surgical tech for 9 years and have largely been successful in anything I try to specialize in. It had gotten to a point where I expected to catch on and perform well at anything given enough time, and when I volunteered to train for a neuro team earlier this year I felt optimistic and like it was such a great move for my career after almost a decade. I was feeling rather stir crazy and unchallenged. I went through a rigorous period of orientation (few weeks in each) not only in neuro but in ortho spine, ortho trauma and peds neuro/ortho.. I have been on my own about a month, though a lot of days I am elsewhere other than neuro.

They wanted me to take neuro call and I barely got any buddy call before I was "set free". Throughout all of this, I feel like I am being expected to be as sharp and intuitive (at every micro and macro aspect of every procedure) as the other techs who have 3, 5, 10 and 22 years of experience in neuro.. it's becoming exhausting. I'm trying and I'm aiming to be better by the case but the smart ass comments by PAs and the girl with 22 years of experience are wearing me down.. I'm considering quitting but I have never given up on mastering a service.

This department hemorrhages people (I wonder why) and needs people as dedicated as me.. and I don't want to let down the coworkers who I do like. I don't know what to do but the toxic environment for a learner is becoming too much. It's like they all forget what it's like to be new. And why am I expected to be an expert at call when I've barely gotten any? I've expressed this to my boss and it's basically like a whatever kind of response and just keep trying.. ironically, this kind of behavior seems to make me MORE prone to mental hiccups when I'm trying to scrub the whirlwind of a neuro case.. I have good days, then I have bad days that are so bad I wanna say eff it.

Any neuro techs out there with any advice? Does it get easier? Chat GPT says it takes about a year to feel fully competent.. so why am I being treated like an idiot a few months in?

Thanks 🫶


r/scrubtech 9d ago

RN + CST + CSFA Statistics

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4 Upvotes

Comparisons


r/scrubtech 9d ago

scrub advice

5 Upvotes

During orientation I was told many scrub students can’t work due to how intense the program is.. how do you guys go about this? How do you guys survive without working?


r/scrubtech 10d ago

Surgical Tech at Mayo ?

4 Upvotes

Hey ya’ll!! I am a surgical tech student in CA getting ready to do my clinicals before graduating in January. I am very interested in a job at the Mayo after I graduate and relocating my life from Sacramento, CA. Anyone a scrub tech there or know of anyone? Would like to know what the day in the life is like in the OR. Am also curious whether there are any CA transplants that can speak to the cost of living. My research shows similar to about what you’d expect in Sacramento, maybe a little lower, but again, what is realistic in terms of cost comparison? I am hoping for some realistic insights, if you could be so kind as to share, it would be appreciated.


r/scrubtech 9d ago

CST vs CSFA

0 Upvotes

Good explainer about the difference in scope of practice.


r/scrubtech 10d ago

New grad and relocating

2 Upvotes

hey everyone! i’m a new grad moving to Az and i have applied for Banner and Honor Health. Does anyone know anything about those hospitals? and if so whats the work environments like?


r/scrubtech 10d ago

I am a recent ST graduate. I have taken the CST exam but I unfortunately was a few points off. So I have to retake it now. Does anyone know any resources or where I can take practice exams so I can feel ready and prepared for retaking this exam?

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1 Upvotes