Meeting & Agendas

John Hourie called the meeting to order at 2:10 pm and had the attendees introduce themselves: Stacy Bailey, Pedro Barrera, III, Laura Carlisle, Dionicio Chapa, Tony DeDominico, Susan Diamond, Carol Hamilton, John Hourie, Eileen Klein, Barbara Powell, Michele Richards, Becky Stewart.

Eileen Klein asked the students present if they have any use for Pharmacology at clinics. Stacy Bailey said they really don\'t use it that much. It helps to know what is there but they don\'t use dosage calculations. There is another Pharmacology class without dosage calculation which might be an alternative. The main idea is that the students have foundational knowledge to succeed. It was suggested that Pedro and the faculty meet with Dr. Richard Espinoza and discuss how they might help each other.

Pedro had a handout covering the Surgical Tech class of December 2008 and August 2009 showing the overall results of the PAE (Program Assessment Exam) exam. The charts showed how students rated in the various aspects of completing the exam as well as the group average. Pedro stated a new company is giving the exam and he doesn\'t think there is a maximum time to take the test. Regarding the National Certification Exam Pedro showed the results of ACC students versus all students taking the national certification exam. The numbers have changed somewhat due to more students taking the national certification exam.

Pedro received information on October 22, 2009 from ARC/STSA. (Accreditation Review Council on Education in Surgical Technology and Surgical Assisting) has been conducting a pilot test since last year with programs electing to use the CST exam at the outcomes assessment exam for Surgical Technology programs. At the September 2009 ARC/STSA Board of Director\'s meeting, the thresholds for the CST as outcomes assessment exam were set. The CST exam will be the only ARC/STSA approved outcomes assessment exam for all CAAHEP accredited Surgical Technology programs effective for all cohorts completing August 1, 2011 and thereafter. The cost of the PAE exam is $30 and the CST exam is $200.

A lot of information needs to be gathered because the cost of the CST exam might add a cost of $200 per student to complete the program. It needs to be determined what the exact cost will be, how is it administered, proctors, etc. We do know that the test can be taken on campus by computer. It was suggested that maybe the faculty could get the study guide and quiz the students during the year. After their questions are answered, Pedro and faculty can make better decisions on what direction to go with minimal cost impact to the students.

Pedro also handed out copies of the Surgical Technology Certificate Plan and Degree Plan. Some students have been having problems and not being able to graduate because they won\'t have finished the co-requisite Math and Pharmacology class by the time they complete the program. It is extremely difficult to take Pharmacology and the 3rd semester classes at the same time. After much discussion Tony DeDominico made a motion that Math and Pharmacology be made prerequisites before students can enter the third semester. John Hourie seconded the motion. The motion was unanimously passed. This will mean that Pedro will have to meet with the Curriculum Committee to make this change.

All members were given copies of the Graduate Survey of the August 2009 class, as well as the Clinical Site Evaluation. A question was posed as to whether these reports were of importance to the facilities. Everyone agreed that they were important; they want to stop any problems before they get out of hand. They want to help the students have a positive learning experience.

The Round Rock campus looks like it is on schedule to open in August 2010. The Surgical Technology department will have suction in the wall available, mounted cameras and retractable walls among other wonderful things. They hope to have 6 - 8 students in the first class at Round Rock. The Round Rock program will be considered a satellite campus and will mean a lot of paperwork for accreditation. This will also entail another site visit. Pedro said they have several applicants for the 2 new positions and hope to start faculty interviews in January.

Because of the difficulty some working students have coming to the lab when they have a free day, the faculty thought it would be a good idea to develop videos showing various skills needed and make it so the students had to use their critical thinking. This would be something they could also take home and practice their procedures. The video would show someone going through a procedure, then the student would look at the next video and pick out what mistakes were made and see if they were corrected. These videos would also help free the instructors from having to stop their class to help one person. There will be 3 computers available, and when the students have a question, they can go to the computer, watch the video and get their answer. Pedro mentioned to Ellen Wuertz the faculty was thinking of making some videos as teaching aids. Ellen said she thought there was a grant available, so they started working on it and were successful. The grant paid for everything and gave them an opportunity to have much more professional videos made. Pedro recruited the Instructional Development department and their video people to help put this together. So far they have received very positive results from the students.

Everyone was given a handout titled \'\'Scrub Role\'\' which showed what duties during any given surgical intervention, with proficiency, the student must perform. ACC is currently requiring the students to complete 125 cases with various types of cases. After checking several classes the faculty found that students weren\'t getting all 125 cases they needed. When they checked the hospitals they found that surgeries were down; the emergence of Surgical Centers has cut down on some of the surgeries previously performed in hospitals. Pedro wants to have the required number of cases changed from 125 to 80 cases. This will entail a lot of research regarding caseloads, market data and how this is affecting students caseloads. It was suggested that Pedro should do an analyses facility by facility and what and where the trends are going. Pedro thought they might possibly change clinical dates so they differ between Round Rock and Eastview. Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday are the best days for hospitals. The Advisory Committee advised that if the current case loads are below the 125 case requirement, the program should contact ARC/STSA about lowering the requirement in order to remain in compliance.