Welcome SJVC Surg Tech Seniors and Sophomores!

Congratulations to the new senior class! These students are well on their way to a rewarding and challenging career in the operating room. They have just completed their first semester of clinicals and now embark on the home stretch of their journey. In just fifteen weeks, they will be graduated! Great job seniors, but keep it up, there is still a lot of work to be done!

Senior class from left to right: John Ruth, Angela Magana, Lillian Gomez, Symon Guerra, Melissa Magin, Maribel Figueroa, Grant McNealy

Congratulations on completing the first term and becoming sophomores. You all deserve a huge pat on the back. After fifteen grueling weeks of late nights, long days, and no friends or family while you poor over your books and homework, you can finally sit back and breathe for a brief moment until the second term kicks into full gear. This next semester will hopefully prove to be tougher, more in-depth, funner and more rewarding than the last as you march your way toward clinicals next term. Good luck to each of you and again, congrats!

Sophomore class from left to right: Tracy Cheek, Kadie McDaniel, Jennifer Rincon, Jennifer Costanzo, Vanessa Galvan, Conrad Pazura, Stacey Espinosa, Katie Jameson, Debbie Gutierrez, Sam Des Jardins, Cori Haynes, and Robin Splan

SJVC Fresno Haiti Relief Fundraiser

In the wake of the disaster in Haiti many organizations have rallied support for the efforts to help those in need in that region. As a way to show our support, SJVC has placed a donation center in the main lobby of the Fresno campus at the Student Services desk. This effort, under the direction of campus director Dr. John Swiger, will include several events that will hope to increase the amount of money we are able to give to the victim's of Haiti's earthquake. One of these events is outlined below:

On February 11, a basket raffle will be held in time for Valentine's Day. We encourage the Surg Tech program to participate in this fundraiser and put together a Valentine's Day basket to be raffled along with baskets from other departments and classes. The baskets must be submitted by February 5 and will be placed on display. On Monday, February 8, raffle tickets will go on sale for $1.00 a each at the Student Services desk. Before the raffle, the tickets will be counted and the class with the most tickets purchased for their basket will win a pizza party!

Haiti Disaster Has Only Just Begun

Haiti in Ruins

In the wake of the disaster that struck just west of Port-au-Prince on Tuesday, a medical emergency is quickly taking a toll on the already devasted country. With significant aftershocks continuing, over 100,000 people reported dead, hospitals and key medical facilities in ruble, and many key medical personnel missing, the area is in full crisis. Current reports are that approximately 3 million people are injured and public health resources are seriously drained. According to the Haiti government, many of these people will not be able to receive the care that they need. In an attempt to send aid to the victims of the earthquake, non-profit organizations are asking for money rather than goods. With many organizations already on the ground providing the victims with the supplies that they need, they are calling for monetary donations to help them in their efforts. Here are some ways we can help:

To send help to Haiti quickly, please text the word “HAITI” to “90999″ and a donation of $10 will automatically be sent to the American Red Cross and will be added to your cell phone bill.

Contact the American Red Cross directly by clicking here.

Help the efforts of InterAction by clicking here.

The Center for International Disaster Information will accept donations of goods or services by clicking here.

HAPPY 2010!

Happy new year to all of the friends, family, staff, and students of the San Joaquin Valley College Fresno Surgical Technology program. 2009 has certainly been a year to remember, and as always, the year has flown by. The coming year will hold a lot of challenging and exciting times for the surg tech students. As we round out the final weeks of term one, the students are gearing up for term two. This term will consist of 15 weeks of classroom and laboratory instruction for the soon-to-be sophomores that will hone in their skills and prepare them to enter the operating room at their assigned clinical sites and begin to assist in surgical operations on real patients. The junior class will be moving into their final term as seniors and will continue their clinical externships at new facilities.  Please take a moment to congratulate your son, daughter, spouse, mom, dad, friend, or family member on their accomplishments so far as they have embarked on the journey toward gaining a rewarding education and career. Good luck to all of you as we start this new year. Happy 2010!

Check us out in the ASTSA News!

In the current Fall 2009 issue of the ASTSA News there is a blurb about SJVC on page 5. For those of you who would like to read the newsletter (and I recommend you do), here is the link:

http://www.ast.org/publications/documents/ASTSA%20News/Fall09.pdf

There is some very useful information here for any student in clinicals, enjoy.

Surgical Assistant Resource

I just wanted to send out this quick update and let everyone know that the Surgical Technology Resource site has been integrated into the following website:

www.surgicalassistantresource.org

Check this site periodically for study aids, links to info to help out on projects and presentations, and for any other info related to the profession.

Also, I just wanted to take a moment and say that you all did a good job in lab this week. I know that it is getting down to the wire, but just keep up the studying and come to open lab this Friday. Your skills are improving each and every week, keep it up and you will be excelling at your clinical sites in no time! Have a great weekend and get geared up for intraoperative skills next week. We have now graduated to the next level in surgical case management!

For a limited time, MD Publishing is offering a free subscription to OR Today magazine. This is a great resource dealing with many current issues facing operating room staff. To subscribe, click the link below. No billing information other than name and address are requested, so the subscriptions will not auto renew.

http://www.mdpublishing.com/subscription.aspx