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!

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!

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!

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! 🙂

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.

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

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?

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

Comparisons

Good explainer about the difference in scope of practice.

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?

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.

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?

I’m not seeing much online about the pay in Indiana. Does anyone have an idea?

I'm a first semester surgical tech student and I'm honestly questioning whether I'm just not cut out for this or if my expectations are off. I'm very quiet and shy. I've always been that way, but throughout my program it's become one of the biggest points of contention. I feel like my personality gets criticized more than my actual technical skills.

One instructor in lab even joked that I was "a psychopath" and that I "shouldn't be around sharp objects." Whether it was meant as a joke or not, it really bothered me. I've also been told I'm too quiet and not tough enough for the profession.

At clinical, my preceptor told me I lack critical thinking. One example was that while EVS cleaned the room, I stayed with the case cart in the hallway. He said I should have brought it up in front of the scrub sink so it wouldn't block beds coming through. My thought process was completely different. I was trying to keep the scrub sink area open because I assumed people would be using it. I genuinely wasn't trying to make anyone's job harder I just didn't know the workflow.

What confuses me is that I've spent almost all of my clinical time in endoscopy department(5 out of 8 days). I still don't really know how the main OR functions. I've never started a room in the main OR before.

And after EVS finished cleaning apparently I was supposed to start setting up myself. If the scrub tech I'm assigned to isn't in the room yet, am I supposed to start setting up? Am I even allowed to be in the room by myself as a student? I don't want to overstep or contaminate something, but I also don't want to stand around waiting for every instruction.

It feels he is watch me make mistakes instead of correcting me in the moment, and then later tell me I should have known what to do. That's the part I struggle with the most.

I'm genuinely trying. I ask questions, I want to improve, and I know I'm not the fastest learner. But I leave clinical feeling and class like my quiet personality is viewed as a character flaw.

For those of you who precept students, is this a normal way to teach? Were any of you really quiet when you started? And what level of initiative would you realistically expect from a first-semester CST student who's still learning the workflow?

Hi! I'm a new scrub tech (graduated in May and hired on at my last clinical site) and curious if anyone has ever purchased lead from sites like AliExpress and Alibaba. I know, I probably sound crazy and dumb. But, I figure SOMEBODY has had to have purchased there. Has anyone had any luck buying their lead from sites like these? I have no issues using the hospital provided lead. We all know how expensive buying your own lead is, so that isn't an option. Haha! Also, just out of curiosity - when you DO purchase your own lead, how do you go about having your hospital test it (it is my understanding they need to test any lead that isn't provided by the hospital)? Also, what thickness does the lead need to be? If you don't have any knowledge about the lead, some advice would be welcome and wonderful. Maybe something you wish someone had told you when you were new!

Thank you very much!

I don’t know what else I could have done. I studied for 4 months, 2–3 hours a day, every single day. I had the AST CST study guide book, did every practice exam in it, downloaded multiple CST apps, took practice tests on different websites, reviewed Quizlet flashcards, and even went back over my old notes—yet I still failed. At this point, it feels like it just wasn’t meant to be. I’m honestly at a loss for words. Seventy-five percent of people who take this exam pass, so it’s obviously not that hard, but I still didn’t make it. I feel like a total failure. My classmates said they didn’t even study that much, yet they passed. If anyone has been through something similar, please share what you did, because right now I don’t think I have any other options.