Death by PowerPoint!

How NOT to use PowerPoint...

Happy Constitution Day!

Welcome New Freshmen Class!

Please join us in welcoming the new freshmen class to the SJVC Fresno Surg Tech program!  We are looking forward to a great 16 months as we embark on this journey toward becoming surgical technologists.

How a Surg Tech is Born

Surgical techs really do come out of the womb ready to operate.  We were born to do this job!

Advancing Surgical Technologies

Fresno surgical technology instructor Doug Hughes has an article published in this month's issue of The Surgical Technologist, the journal of the Association of Surgical Technologists. The article focuses on two advancing technologies that hold the potential to revolutionize healthcare as we know it: robotic anesthesia machines and natural orifice surgery. Anesthesia robots monitor the patient, induce anesthesia, and administer medications automatically throughout the procedure, thus eliminating the need for the constant care of an anesthesia provider. During natural orifice surgery, a high-tech endoscope with specialized instruments is placed through the mouth or anus. Via this approach, a myriad of complex surgeries can be performed without the need to create an incision through skin. The lack of an incision eliminates the need for abdominal wall dissection and enhances postoperative healing and cosmesis.
Read the article here: http://www.ast.org/publications/Journal%20Archive/2011/8_August_2011/CE.pdf

Oral Maxillofacial Links

I found these links to great information that you can use to study for oral maxillofacial surgery this week.

This is a superb anatomy site:



http://face-and-emotion.com/dataface/anatomy/anatomy.jsp


This one is the alveolar ridge reconstruction we saw in class today:



http://www.dentistrytoday.com/periodontics/1599

OPTHALMOLOGY -- ANATOMY AND PHYSIOLOGY OF THE EYE

Here is a good vodeo to review the anatomy and physiology of the eye. This author also has several more great eye videos.

Assemblymember Hernandez Recognizes California's Surgical Technologists

Ortho Gate

Check out this great website for orthopedic surgery and trauma:

http://www.orthogate.org/

A permanent link to the site as been added to the Student Success page.

SJVC on Valley Life

During National Surgical Technologists week back in September, Valley Life came to SJVC and conducted an on-site interview with Ms. Junge and a couple of our students. Great job getting the word out about our profession everyone!

Surgical Hand Scrub Learning Module

The attached video is intended to help you practice your scrubbing skills:

Inside the Red Line

There is an interesting new website for surgical technology students. The site, Inside the Red Line, was created by a student named Jamie Nielsen and contains information that may help you with your reports and projects. There is also a blog on the site that relates some of Jamie's experiences as a clinical student. Check it out here.

Waterless Surgical Hand Scrub

This week in the lab the focus is on scrubbing. The surgical scrub is an important part of aseptic technique and the prevention of infection. Several techniques and products have been developed to facilitate the surgical hand scrub. One of these is the waterless scrub. In our lab, we have avagard waterless scrub solution located next to the traditional scrub sinks. Because this method has become very commonplace in operating rooms throughout the world, the performance of a waterless scrub is a skill that you will learn and check off on this week. Please find the instructions for the use of 3M's Avagard product at the following link:

3M AVAGARD

Current Events Link

Below is a link to a website that may help you find articles for current events in STT 110. Thanks Tiffany for sharing this link with us!

Escience News

Welcome New Freshmen Class!

Please welcome our newest class of aspiring surgical technologists to the SJVC, Fresno program. We are all very excited to have them and look forward to working with each and every one of them as they begin this first step in laying the foundation for their future career. The next sixteen months will prepare these students for life in the operating room. It will be filled with hard work, sacrifice, studying, and yeah... maybe some fun too! When things start to get tough, remember that "I never said it would be easy, I only said it would be worth it!"

Congratulations new freshmen on taking the initiative to learn and enter this exciting career field. Please do not hesitate to talk to your instructors whenever you need help or guidance. Also, check back often as this blog is filled with helpful information, useful links, and inspiring photos of other students who have made it. Best of luck to all of you!

Congratulations Surg Tech Students!!

San Joaquin Valley College and the Fresno Surgical Technology Department are proud to announce the graduating class of 2011.  These students have done an amazing job over the past year and a half and are on their way into the field.  What's more, each and every one of them passed their national board examination and can call themselves CSTs!  Congratulations and keep up the good work, you are a model for your peers and we wish you all the best as you pursue your future.

Congratulations to the new Graduating Class of 2011!

And welcome new Junior Class!

We are all very proud of your tremendous accomplishments!

Click here to view the pictures from the party.

Surgical Incision Anatomy Projects

The sophomore class completed their surgical incision projects this week.  the idea of this assignment was to better help them understand the various tissue layers and anatomical structures involved in the creation of a surgical wound.  The projects were fantastic!

Dean Franksen Scrubs In!

We were pleased to have our Dean of Student Services, Mr. Jerry Franksen, stand in as the surgical first assistant in lab today. For a greenie he did a terrific job! Thanks again for all of your support, Dean Franksen!

SJVC Preoperative Surgical Set-up Video

The following video was developed by the SJVC Surgical Technology Department for the purpose of demonstrating the proper set-up for a basic surgical procedure. The images and narration in this video are intended to help you work toward mastery of an efficient method that can be used as the basis for any surgical procedure set-up. Additionally, this video can be used as a guide for preoperative set-up in the applied skills surgical lab during terms 1 and 2.

First All-Robotic Surgery: McSleepy Meets DaVinci

Press release: McSleepy meets DaVinci...

Doctors at McGill University Health Centre, Canada, have recently performed the world's first all-robotic surgery. The locally developed McSleepy put the patient on anesthesia, while surgeons used the well-known DaVinci robot to perform a prostatectomy. It was the first time these two robotic systems were combined.
From the press release:
“Providing anesthesia for robotic prostatectomy can be challenging because of the specific patient positioning and the high degree of muscle relaxation necessary to maintain perfect conditions for the surgical team,” added Dr. Hemmerling. “Automated anesthesia delivery via McSleepy guarantees the same high quality of care every time it is used, independent from the subjective level of expertise. It can be configured exactly to the specific needs of different surgeries, such as robotic surgery.”
“Obviously, there is still some work needed to perfect the all robotic approach - from technical aspects to space requirements for the robots,” added Dr. Hemmerling. “Whereas robots have been used in surgery for quite some time, anesthesia has finally caught up. Robots will not replace doctors but help them to perform to the highest standards.”

This first test was successful and now the team plans to expand their tests to more and larger types of surgery.