ACTC Surgical Technology celebrates 30 years of excellence

Published on Sep 17, 2024

Ashland Community and Technical College is celebrating the thirtieth anniversary of the Surgical Technology program as a part of National Surgical Technologists Week.

ACTC is spotlighting the program on social media all week long, highlighting the many achievements of the students, faculty, and staff that have been a part of the program since its inception in 1994.

National Surgical Technologists Week is celebrated each year on the third week of September. 

Surgical technologists perform under direct supervision of a surgeon to provide the highest standard of care to surgical patients from the operating room to various medical settings.

Many of the students graduating from the Surgical Technology program at ACTC go on to work at regional hospitals. 

One of those graduates is Alysha “Nikki” Smith.

Smith graduated from ACTC in 2020 and is a current Certified Surgical Technologist (CST) at UK St. Claire HealthCare. She says she chose the Surgical Technology program at ACTC because she knew she wanted to do something in the medical field and was fascinated by surgery.

“Surgical Technologists are so important and play such a huge role in surgery,” she said. “It’s a very rewarding career to be a part of something so incredible.”

The class of 2020 had a 100% pass rate on their certification exams. 

“We are honored that the legacy of the surgical technology program continues to live on at ACTC,” said Dr. Sara Brown, Acting Associate Dean of Health Science Technologies. “One of the major reasons for that success is our ability to adopt new surgery technologies and adapt the program to meet the needs of our hospital partners. We have been fortunate to attract quality CST instructors and clinicians to serve our dedicated students who continue to achieve success in the field.” 

Heather Cantrell, program coordinator for the Surgical Technology program, says she is proud of the success of her graduates. 

“As the coordinator of the Surgical Technology program at ACTC, I am honored to take part in the journey of future CSTs as they pass through the doors of my classroom and leave at the end of the year confident and capable surgical technologists,” she said.

Cantrell is a 2008 graduate of ACTC’s Surgical Technology program. 

The program runs from January to December. The application deadline is October 1.

For more information, contact Cantrell at heather.cantrell@kctcs.edu.

Written by: Megan Smedley