Surgical First Assistant - Specialized Certificate (SC)

Certificate Quick Facts

• Instructional School: Health
• Department: Health Professions
• Program Code: SFA.SC
• Program Type: Career and Technical Education
• Available Fully Online: No
• Eligible for Federal Financial Aid: Yes

NOTE: Courses required for this program may have an additional fee; more information can be found on the Special Course Fees web page.

Certificate Plan: Spring Start

The course sequence listed below is strongly recommended in order to complete your program requirements. Many Career and Technical Education (CTE) courses have prerequisites and/or corequisites that have been accounted for within this course sequence plan. Please register for each semester as shown using the Student Planning tool in myCWI. Consult your advisor for any questions regarding this course sequence plan.

NOTE: All courses listed under Major Requirements must be completed with a grade of C or higher.

Program Learning Outcomes

Upon successful completion of this program, students will be able to:

• Communicate the surgeon’s preferences and specific patient’s needs to a surgical team including but not limited to suture needs, specialty supplies and instrumentation, and equipment.
• Apply advanced knowledge of normal and pathological surgical anatomy and physiology.
• Demonstrate aseptic skills by monitoring actions around the sterile field.
• Demonstrate preoperative skills such as assessing patient information, history, preoperative tests (e.g. EKG, EEG, EMG, lab values, diagnostic imaging), safety measures, biopsy results, positioning, and draping.
• Demonstrate competency in all positioning techniques for the surgeries they are participating in.
• Demonstrate safe stabilized placement on the appropriate bed/table with the appropriate operation, set up, safety measures, and utilization of all necessary equipment, stabilizers, padding, wrapping, and/or attachments.
• Perform a surgical skin prep selecting the correct prep for the situation (e.g. chlorhexidine gluconate/alcohol prep, iodine povacrylex/alcohol prep, chlorhexidine gluconate, povidone-iodine [iodopovidone], etc.) and preparing the appropriate surgical prep site necessary, including tourniquet application and foley catheter insertion.
• Provide intraoperative skills such as visualization, trocar insertion, injection of local anesthetics, hemostasis, tissue handling, placement and securing of wound drains, and closure of body planes.
• Demonstrate proficiency in all pertinent abilities required during a procedure; these include, but are not limited to, clamping, cauterizing, suturing, inserting, injecting, manipulating, retracting, cutting, and ligating tissue as necessary, as well as any further actions deemed necessary by the surgeon.
• Demonstrate postoperative skills in patient care, such as dressing application, patient transfer and transport, transfer of care, and monitoring for immediate complications while collaborating with others to provide continuity of care.

(Learning Outcomes adapted from the 4th Core Curriculum of the Association of Surgical Assistants.)