Meeting & Agendas

Carol welcomed all & introductions were made. Carlos Sandoval appointed Chair of meeting.

Student Retention Fall 2016 start 79% (24 – 5 = 19) Spring 2017 65% (17 – 6 = 11) Total 2016/2017 73% (41 – 11 = 30) Fall 2017 Anatomy & Physiology I & II added to the degree plan in place of Introduction to Anatomy & Physiology. Since that time, enrollment has dropped but student quality has increased. Fall 2017 start 68% (22 - 7 = 15) * Spring 2018 start 92% (12 – 1 = 11)* Fall 2018 start 14 accepted to program, current enrollment is 8 Spring 2019 12 accept to program, current enrollment is 12 Fall 2019 start 15 qualified applicants have been received, recruitment continues to reach maximum fall enrollment of 24 *not reported at meeting but included here Attrition is primarily attributed to personal reasons (health/pregnancy, family circumstances) or to skills. Student Surveys The response rate for student surveys has improved with sending surveys to personal email accounts and email reminders. ______ revised the rule so that we can send graduate surveys as soon as students graduate rather than several months later which has also been a factor in improving return rates. Fall 2016 42% (19/8) Spring 2017 91% (11/10) Total 66% (29/19) Employer Surveys Response rates have increased and the program appreciates the time involved to respond and the input received. Fall 2016 94% (18/17) Spring 2017 67% (9/6) Total 92% (26/24) Satisfaction Surveys Fall 2016 Employer satisfaction rate = 100% Student satisfaction rate = 75% Spring 2017 Employer satisfaction rate = 100% Student satisfaction rate = 90% National Certification Exam Results 100% pass rate for past 4 graduating cohorts: Fall 2016, Spring 2017, Fall 2017 and Spring 2018.

Refer to information recorded above in Item 2 Student Retention. The program is confident of continuing to have more successful students in the pipeline. The program continues sending an announcement email to students currently enrolled in the science prerequisite classes that notify them of the Special Admission Policy that opens admission to include students who are currently in the process of completing prerequisite courses. This has been proven to be a successful recruitment tool. Since surgical technology generally remains an “unknown” career, the students in attendance were asked what drew them to the profession and provided the following responses: 1. EMT who wanted to be in the operating room 2. Wanted a change of career and did research on the ACC Health Science website 3. Knew they wanted to be in hospital but not as a nurse and had a friend who recommended surgical technology

Kathy Cook provided an update on Austin Community College offering a sterile processing class. She asked if any members of the committee had been contacted to serve on an advisory committee for sterile processing and no one in attendance had been contacted. The class will be offered through ACC’s Continuing Education Division (CE) starting August 2019. Students will receive a certificate of completion but will not be awarded college credit. Gloria Cantu with the CE Division designed the curriculum and syllabus. Ms. Cantu is currently in the process of securing clinical sites for the course. Kathy Cook has met with Ms. Cantu on a consultant basis and surgical technology faculty is willing to act as a liaison between clinical sites and the CE division. There are 2 certification bodies: (1) IAHCSMM offers CRCST certification and (2) CBSTSA offers a certification. Sandy Mangrum stated that she prefers CRCST certification for her employees. Kathy Cook stated that she had no information on the status of hiring an instructor but was informed that the class would involve 120 classroom and 400 clinical hours over the months of September and October. It was noted that most people currently working in hospitals in this role study on their own.

This year 1,000 community attendees came to the annual Health Science Open House in February. The Open House is in its third year. Last year 600 attended so it continues to grow each year. The Surgical Technology program set up various ORs/mock surgeries for the community to see firsthand what a surgical technologist does.

The department continues recruitment efforts in the following manner: 1. Attended McCallum High School’s Career Fair. The program intends to continue visiting schools for pipeline recruitment. 2. Carol Hamilton did a TV interview on KVUE 3. Javier Palacios did a TV interview on Telemundo 4. The intention is to continue to spread word of the profession in various formats Carlos Sandoval asked if our clinical affiliates could assist in recruitment efforts. It was noted that the Manor school district received a $450,000 grant for medical technology. Carlos will reach out to them and share contact information and Lara Vela will contact the Bastrop school district for contacts regarding their initiatives. Barbara Powell noted that ACC’s Round Rock campus has high school students on the campus which helps to expose students to career opportunities in Health Sciences. It was also noted that the Manor and Bastrop school districts also have high school students on college campuses. Some high school students are able to graduate high school with Associate degrees.

This is a Texas Higher Education initiative with 12 colleges involved. The goal is to achieve 60% of the population receiving an Associate degree by year 2030. Dr. Cook, ACC Provost, strongly supports this effort. 12 Area of Study (AOS) pathways guide students through the education process at ACC. Carlos Sandoval inquired if academic counselors explain what different careers involve. Carol Hamilton responded that a Health Science Orientation is required of all incoming students who declare Health Sciences as their AOS. The orientation provides information on each Health Science program available to students. Students with 12 or more college hours are not required to attend the orientation but must meet with an academic counselor. Michele Richards noted that adult education classes are visiting health science programs every 8 weeks. This happens very early in their education process but does expose them to opportunities in health science careers. Pete Barrera stated that the ACC website offers an “Explore a Career” section that will map out and align personal interests and characteristics with appropriate careers. Additionally, the Surgical Technology program’s website has an online Information Session that provides information on the program and career.

Barbara Powell reported that the committee met a couple of times last year to establish not a policy, but a sharps safety guideline. The surgical technology program instructs students not to recap. Hospital policies are similar to what is taught in the program but actual practices can be different. It was found that some sites discovered they didn’t have a sharps policy. If this was the case, sharps safety committee members would talk to staff and present guidelines. The attending students were asked how they felt about the issue of sharps safety and responded that it was confusing and that inconsistencies existed even between surgical technology program faculty. This issue will be addressed by the department. Gabrielle Davis suggested sending a copy of the policy to the Marketing department to create an info graphic that can be posted. National certification exam’s stance is that the best practice is do not recap and to use the scoop method if necessary.

• Clinical surveys were distributed to members for their review. Carol clarified that every student in a clinical group is asked to complete a clinical survey (even if they withdrew from the program). • CST renewal is now every 2 years and cost adjusted to half. Six (6) hours of CEs have to be live format (conference, etc.) • Minutes for the April 20, 2018 Advisory Committee Meeting were approved. • The Surgical Technology Program Wish List was reviewed. The program gratefully accepts donations and we are requesting some items in next year’s budget. We are in need of complete instrument sets and a complete set of laparoscopic instruments is needed very badly because we can’t set up or practice laparoscopic procedures with our current inventory. Barbara Alexius inquired if we have connections with hospital boards for help with supplies and equipment but we do not. • Next meeting April 17, 2020 tentatively set. Check on Seton Leadership meeting for 2020 for possible conflict.