Surgical Technology

The Surgical Technology program is accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs upon the recommendation of Accreditation Review Council on Education for Surgical Technology and Surgical Assisting.

Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs
9355 - 113th St. N, #7709
Seminole, FL 33775
727-210-2350
www.caahep.org

The faculty and administration are fully committed to the accreditation process. Working with the Accreditation Review Committee on Surgical Technology and Surgical Assisting (ARC/STSA) and the Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education (CAAHEP), Delta maintains the highest level of accreditation for the Surgical Technology Program.

Getting your degree in a health field is unique compared to other Delta programs. You must first take your prerequisite core courses, and then you'll apply for validation.

What's validation?
The Registrar's Office validates your prerequisite courses to confirm you are eligible to begin the clinical portion of your program.

Success tips

• Declare the Surgical Technology program.
• Meet with your advisor regularly. Stay on track with what you need to do to apply.
• Apply for validation with the Registrar's Office once you've started your final semester of prerequisite courses.
• Stay connected for important updates from Delta.

We begin with 15 students each fall. Our program effectiveness rates for the last five years are as follows:

National certification pass rates
Total percent of candidates in the graduation class who took the CST Exam and passed.

• 2021, 91%
• 2020, 100%
• 2019, 73%
• 2018, 87%
• 2017, 100%

Program completion rates*

• 2021, 73%
• 2020, 100%
• 2019, 100%
• 2018, 100%
• 2017, 87%

*Note the program completion rates are calculated once the student is admitted to the clinical portion of the program. It does not include time on the wait list.

Employment rates

• 2020, 93%
• 1019, 87%
• 2018, 87%
• 2017, 92%
• 2016, 82%

We want to make sure you're ready when you graduate and that the knowledge you gain from your Delta degree is top-notch. When you're done here's what you'll be able to do:

• Perform as a competent entry-level surgical technologist.
• Demonstrate a sound knowledge base in scientific principles.
• Demonstrate collaboration skills when working as a member of a healthcare team.
• Demonstrate respect for diversity in the professional workplace.
• Exhibit strong ethical behaviors in the professional workplace.
• Explain the importance of assuming responsibility for lifelong learning.
• Demonstrate effective communication.
• Apply critical thinking skills to make independent clinical judgments.

The Surgical Technology Program Student Handbook is written for students who have been admitted to the program and is a supplement to the Delta College Student Handbook. You will find policies utilized by the Surgical Technology program as well as student services that are available. 

See the surgical first assistant student handbook

1. You will be keeping a spreadsheet record called “Counted Cases for Accreditation Reports.” The total number of cases you must complete to meet graduation requirements is 120.
2. You are required to complete 30 cases in General Surgery. Twenty of the cases must be in the first ccrub role.
3. You are required to complete 90 cases in various surgical specialties outside of general surgery. Sixty of the cases must be in the first scrub role and evenly distributed between a minimum of four surgical specialties. A minimum of ten cases in the first scrub role must be completed in each of the required minimum of four surgical specialties (40 cases total required). The remaining 20 cases in the first scrub role may be distributed amongst any one surgical specialty or multiple surgical specialties.
4. You will be recording for verification (through clinical documentation) your progression of your ability to first or second scrub surgical procedures of increased complexity as you move toward entry-level graduate abilities.
5. Diagnostic endoscopy cases and vaginal delivery cases are not mandatory. However, up to ten diagnostic endoscopic cases and five vaginal delivery cases can be counted toward the maximum number of cases in the second scrub role.
6. You must maintain a record of your cases in the observation role but these cases cannot be counted toward the 120 required cases.
7. There will be times when you may be involved in multiple procedures on the same patient. Here are a few scenarios and how to count them.
   1. Cases will be counted according to surgical specialty.  For example:
      1. A trauma patient requires a splenectomy and repair of a LeFort I fracture.  Two cases can be counted and documented; the splenectomy as a general surgery case and the LeFort I as an oral-maxillofacial specialty.
      2. A patient requires a breast biopsy followed by a mastectomy.  It is one pathology (breast cancer) and the specialty is general surgery.  Therefore, it is counted and documented as one procedure.