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Certification and Licensure
Successful
completion of the program does not itself insure certification.
Graduates are eligible to apply for the national certification examination
awarded by the National Board of Surgical Technology and Surgical
Assisting. Successful candidates become Certified Surgical
Technologists (CST), having demonstrated a commitment to maximum
performance and quality patient care.
Certification as a surgical technologist provides evidence to employers,
other health care professionals, and the public that the certified
individual has met the national standard for the knowledge that
underlies surgical technologist practice. Certified individuals
demonstrate mastery of a broad range of knowledge of surgical
procedures, aseptic technique, and patient care by successfully
completing the surgical technologist certifying examination.
Because certification is voluntary, the choice to become certified
demonstrates individual pride in the profession, the desire to be
recognized for mastery of the principles of science and patient care
unique to surgical technology, and an ongoing commitment to quality
patient care. Certification can be a means for upward mobility, a
condition for employment, a route to higher pay, and a source of
recognition nationwide.
Surgical technologists who take and pass the CST certifying examination
are certified and authorized to use the initials CST to designate their
status as Certified Surgical Technologists so long as their
certification remains valid. Currently, CST certification is valid for
four years and may be renewed by meeting NBSTSA CST recertification
requirements. |
