NURSING SCHOOL ADS OR TECHNICIAN COURSE

Southeast Missouri Hospital's School of Nursing will begin a course to train surgical technicians next summer and has changed its name to reflect the scope of its health careers programs.

The surgical technology certificate program will be the school's first allied health sciences course, said Tonya Buttry, College of Nursing chairperson. The name, Southeast Missouri Hospital College of Nursing and Health Sciences, has been adopted by the college's board of directors, Buttry said.

To handle the new program, the college's headquarters at 1819 Broadway will be enlarged with a $150,000 addition, with construction beginning soon. It will include an operating room lab, classroom and a nursing lab and should be completed in July.

Surgical technologists perform operating room tasks, such as passing instruments, operating equipment, retracting tissues, cutting sutures and helping provide direct patient care prior to, during and following surgery.

"Surgery techs are an integral part of the OR team," said Susan Thiele, operating room educator and program instructor. "They're like the right hand of the surgeon."

The board decided on a surgical technology program because of a shortage of technologists in the region and nationally, said Sheila Caskey, the school's board president.

Buttry said Southeast has experienced a shortage of surgical technologists and that a survey shows area hospitals and surgery centers are also have a shortage.

"Since the college opened in 1991, its intent has been to meet the needs of students and area health care providers," Caskey said. "Training programs for this field are limited but the need is great."

"As the shortage of qualified nursing and allied health professionals worsens, this college and its educational programs will be of more and more value to health care providers while at the same time offering gainful employment opportunities to our graduates for years to come," said James W. Wente, hospital administrator.

Buttry said there should be job openings available for those who complete the 10-month, full-time surgical technology program, which will get under way in early summer. Starting pay for surgical technologists is $9.50 to $10 an hour, with opportunities for advancement.

Buttry said the college will spend the next few months getting out the word about the program, targeting high school students and people looking to change careers.

Applications are being accepted for the first class of 10.

"We have one instructor, and ten-to-one is a good instructor-to-student ratio to provide plenty of attention to the students," Buttry said.

In addition to the new program, the school offers associate degrees for licensed practical nurses who want to advance to the registered nurse level and a two-year program for those with no prior health care experience.

For more information about the surgical technology program or other programs offered at the College of Nursing and Allied Health Sciences, call 334-6825.