Surgical Technology Diploma (ST12)
The Surgical Technology diploma program prepares students for employment in a variety of positions in the surgical field. The program provides learning opportunities that introduce, develop, and reinforce academic and technical knowledge, skills, and attitudes required for job acquisition, retention, and advancement. Additionally, the program provides opportunities to upgrade present knowledge and skills or to retrain in surgical technology. Graduates are eligible to take the National Certification Examination for Surgical Technologist and will take this exam as part of the graduation process.
NOTE: Once students have completed the selection process and have been accepted into the Surgical Technology program, they will be required to purchase all textbooks for the program during their first semester. (Information regarding costs can be found on the West Georgia Technical College website.)
Career Opportunities
Graduates may find employment as surgical technologists in hospitals, operating rooms, physicians’ offices, emergency rooms, ambulatory/day surgery centers, central supply and management roles.
Competitive Selection Process
Diploma:
Applicants must complete the following steps to enter the Competitive Selection Process. The ST Program will admit once each year at Murphy (Waco) Campus. The deadline to apply for Competitive Selection into the Surgical Technology Diploma is June 1, 2019. The final diploma program cohort begins Fall 2019. This will be the last time this diploma program is offered, since a new degree program has been instituted in its place. Students planning to apply after June 1, 2019 will need to follow the Surgical Technology Degree Advising plan and reference changes to competitive selection requirements for the degree.
Degree:
Applicants must complete the following steps to enter the Competitive Selection Process. The ST Program will admit once each year at Murphy (Waco) Campus. The deadline to apply for Competitive Selection into the Surgical Technology Degree is June 1, 2020. This is a new degree program that will not start until Fall 2020. The program cohort begins each Fall semester. Students planning to apply prior to June 1, 2020 will need to follow the Surgical Technology Diploma Advising plan and reference changes to competitive selection requirements for the diploma.
Surgical Technology Preparatory/Core courses
The annual competitive selection deadline is June 1. To be eligible for the Surgical Technology program selection, the student must complete the following requirements by the applicable deadline.
The student must complete the following courses with a minimum grade of C: ALHS 1011, ALHS 1090, ENGL 1010, MATH 1012, and PSYC 1010.
Surgical Technology Competitive Selection
In addition to completion of the core courses listed above, the Surgical Technology program requires students in competitive selection to complete the Psychological Service Bureau (PSB) Health Occupations Aptitude Examination, Edition 3. Please refer to the Admissions section of this catalog for details of the Competitive Selection Process applicant requirements and scoring method. Additional information is also available on the ST program web page.
Students ranked with the highest overall scores for required course completion and PSB Exam will be selected for program admission.
Surgical Technology Occupational and Clinical Courses
Students selected for admission to the Surgical Technology program will complete the occupational and clinical program courses in a prescribed sequence as a cohort. A class is admitted beginning each fall semester.
Credit Required for Graduation: Minimum of 60 credit hours
Curriculum
Basic Skills Courses
Occupational Courses
COLL 1090: Effective January 2018, COLL 1090 is required for graduation from this program if the admissions eligibility requirement is met (see Office of Admissions for exclusions). If COLL 1090 is not required due to a student's ineligibility, any occupational or occupationally related elective approved by the program advisor should be substituted to meet the minimum program credit hour requirement for graduation (see advisor for approval).