Meeting & Agendas

Tony DeDominico, Nurse Manager at Seton Medical Center, called the meeting to order. Everyone introduced themselves individually and those present were: Tony DeDominico, Geri Davenport, Dr. Tim Faulkenberry, Kimberly Randall, Joe Ruiz, Hohn Hourie, Eileen Klein, Pedro Barrera, III, Kathy Baumbach, Susan Diamond, Glynda Moon, Barbara Powell, Michele Richards, Jami Alby - 3rd semester student, Antony Veach - 1st year student.

SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats). The meeting will be held on December 3rd, Room 8358, 1:30 pm - 3:30 pm. Pedro passed out a sheet with questions and asked for feedback from the committee members.

It was suggested that at the next meeting the topic of discussion should be \'\'Gloving\'\'. Mr. DeDominco commented on the importance of the discussion on the autoclave and safe sharps. Needle sticks usually occur when a tech has worked for less than one year. Two things students are taught - 1. Don\'t count with your fingers (Touching the object) and 2. Don\'t put on KB\'s with your hands.

Pedro Barrera, III discussed the PAE scores. The test gives students an idea where they would score if they were taking the certification exam. The program had an option to take the CST first but we opted out of it. One reason was because of the extra cost of the exam. It is $30.00 for PAE exam and $200.00 for the CST exam. Once you opt to do CST you can\'t go back. A new company is doing the reports and they show the number of people taking the exam, passing, failing, etc. It is suggested the student take the exam within a month of graduating. There is a question as to whether or not a facility would hire someone who is already certified. Seton would. Brackenridge would prefer certified. St. David\'s requires certification. The cost of first time taking the certification exam is $190.00 if you are a member of AST, otherwise $290.00

Everyone looked over and deciminated the results of the Graduate Survey.

Over all, the entire ACC Surgical Technology Program is good. The report is still not complete. There were a few minor matters that have been addressed and changed. One thing that needed to be addressed was the Clinical logs form. Students were turning in their logs at the end of the year and the staff would verify them at that time. They created a semester long logbook and have it turned into one page detailing how many cases, first scrub, solo, etc. This will have the results of the student\'s clinical experiences on one page. The site visitors also complemented the department on how much consumer goods they have for their budget. This is primarily due to the clinics donating supplies.

Manufactured by 3M. What are the hospital\'s policies about manual scrub and Avagard scrub? Seton goes by what the manufacturer suggests on the product label. Most techs do a manual scrub at the beginning of the day and use Avagard (or similar product) for other scrubs during the day UNLESS they go to the bathroom or have lunch.

In some instances it would be ok for a student to use the autoclave, BUT a staff member must be there to supervise and sign the required documents. No student should ever use the autoclave without a staff member there. Some discussion also on \'\'flashing\'\'.

Everyone looked at copies of a power point presentation stating how ACC is an important resource in Central Texas. Copies of the floor plan for the new facility at the new Round Rock Campus were also distributed and discussed.

Glynda Moon will be retiring at the end of January, 2009. A search is on for a replacement faculty member.

Due to the low number of people attending the meetings, everyone was asked what and when would be the best time to hold the advisory meetings. It was suggested that we send out letters 6 weeks in advance of meeting date and follow up with emails a couple of days before meeting. Wednesday\'s from 1:30 pm to 3:30 pm seem to be a good day and time.