Owens Community College revamps Surgical Technology curriculum and significantly improves employment rate
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Owens Community College revamps Surgical Technology curriculum and significantly improves employment rate
FADavis.com
“By changing our curriculum and adding online products from F.A. Davis, we have improved our employment rate to 100%.” April Kesler Department Chair for Surgical Technology and Sterile Processing Owens Community College
April has been the Department Chair for Surgical Technology and Sterile Processing at Owens Community College (Owens CC) for 1 year. Prior to that, she spent 7 years at Northwestern Michigan College as the Surgical Technology Program Coordinator. She also works part-time as a Certified Surgical Technologist at a community hospital. Owens CC admitted 15 students into their 2-year, Associate-degree Surgical Tech program in 2023, twice as many students as they had admitted in 2022. Students range in age from 18-50, some joining the program to train for second careers. The job market for Surgical Technologists is strong for Owen CC graduates; there are over 150 openings in the county and over 300 in the region. The challenge: Ensuring students gain the skills they need to pass the certification exam and get jobs When April came on board at Owens CC, they did not have a 100% employment rate for their graduates, despite the strong job market. All graduates took the Surgical Technology Certification Exam and their pass rates were good. But, as April points out, “ even if students pass the exam, they won’t get jobs if their skill level is low. ” In her new role, she immediately set out to improve the skill level of her students and increase the employment rate of her graduates. The solution: A revamped curriculum with new online and print resources April identified changes that needed to be made to the curriculum, including changing the clinical schedule and the number of hours students spent in clinical. “Students used to spend 3,000 hours in clinical over the course of the program. The school was using the clinical sites to instruct the students as well as train them, so they would arrive in clinical without the skills needed to perform at a satisfactory level.” The school reduced the number of hours to 1,000. This has allowed students to complete a lot of their clinical requirements early in the program so they can spend more time learning the skills they need to get a job. In addition, April added new books and interactive, online components to give the students more opportunities for practice and application. “We started using the F.A. Davis surgical instrumentation book, Differentiating Surgical Instruments , because it included the Surg Tech in Practice courseware. This gave us a really nice way for students to learn how an instrument is used and has improved their critical thinking.” April delivers the lectures online and then assigns online activities that have to be completed before coming to class. That way, in the classroom, they can focus on group activities and active learning. The school also uses the F.A. Davis Pocket Guide to the Operating Room . “This is a really solid product that is beloved by the students. The Pocket Guide gives the students so much information on everything they need to know but in an understandable way. And they can carry it with them.” Owens CC also adopted the Understanding Anatomy & Physiology: A Visual, Auditory, Interactive Approach text and its workbook from F.A. Davis because April felt the A&P coverage in their other books was too light and students weren’t
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“...even if students pass the exam, they won’t get jobs if their skill level is low.”
retaining their A&P knowledge. “The A&P book and workbook gives our students extra practice so they can retain that knowledge throughout the program. The book is very visual with wonderful photography and artwork and it’s not a heavy read.” Retention has improved. The students are performing better on tests, and scores on the A&P section of the certification exam have increased. To help prepare students for certification, the school is using F.A. Davis’s Surgical Technology Review text and the online resources that come with it. “I really love the online component of this product. We use it throughout the curriculum, starting with the first semester, and assign small amounts to expose students to test questions early in the program.” April appreciates that they can tailor the questions to the course they are taking, such as microbiology, and notes that there are excellent rationales for all of the questions. The result: An increase in enrollment, higher student satisfaction, and a 100% employment rate April believes the curriculum changes and introduction of the online component have led to an increase in enrollment and student satisfaction and helped her students develop the skills they need to be job ready. “The hybrid program gives students more flexibility to do some of their coursework at home and they like that. I think that’s one reason why the enrollment doubled.” She believes the online focus has also improved students’ critical-thinking skills. “They don’t have an instructor right in front of them, so they have to use critical thinking to solve problems on their own. I can set up the program so they can keep practicing the same questions over and over again until they get them right. When they go into the operating room, their recall has improved because of all of the practice.” She believes this approach has been integral to improving skills and driving the 100% employment rate. April also notes that the reduced number of clinical hours “changed the attitude of the students and made them less stressed.” They can now also join the hospital as interns, which has made it easier to move into other roles. “Reducing the heavy clinical schedule frees up time for students to learn and retain job skills and has given them opportunities to work in the hospital.” The F.A. Davis experience: April has positive comments about F.A. Davis’s service and products. “My sales rep has always been wonderful; she is very responsive and makes sure I get the materials I need quickly.” Regarding product quality, April notes that the products are really good. “I don’t have nearly as many issues with incorrect information in the books as compared to products I’ve used from other publishers.” April also says the digital materials are easy to use and access. “The platforms are extremely intuitive and it’s really easy for the students to register and navigate.”
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F.A. Davis products in use by Owens Community College § Differentiating Surgical Instruments by Colleen J. Rutherford § Surg Tech in Practice (Online Program) § Pocket Guide to the Operating Room by Maxine A. Goldman § Surgical Technology Review: Certification and Professionalism with Davis Edge by Karen L. Chambers and Valerie Roche § Understanding Anatomy and Physiology: A Visual, Auditory, Interactive Approach by Gale Sloan Thompson § Workbook to Accompany Understanding Anatomy and Physiology by Gale Sloan Thompson About Owens Community College Owens Community College, with campuses in Toledo and Findlay, Ohio, was established in 1965 to provide educational opportunities and training to the residents of its communities. They offer more than 160 programs and certificates to students who are preparing for careers, retraining for new careers, seeking professional development, or obtaining credits to transfer to a four-year college or university. With an average class size of 14, students receive the personal attention they need to succeed. About F.A. Davis: Headquartered in Philadelphia, the city of its founding in 1879, F.A. Davis is an independent, family-owned publisher of teaching and learning solutions for nursing and the health sciences. From flagship titles like Taber’s Cyclopedic Medical Dictionary to online, adaptive platforms like Davis Advantage, Surg Tech in Practice, and Medical Language Lab, the company is dedicated to developing innovative products empowered by the technology that is changing how students are learning, instructors are teaching, and professionals are practicing. The breadth and depth of print, digital, and online resources across disciplines and specialties is a firm foundation on which to meet the challenges of the future. F.A. Davis Named Top Workplace 2021, 2022 & 2023: For the third year in a row, F.A. Davis has been recognized as one of the Top Workplaces in the greater Philadelphia area by The Inquirer , the region’s most prominent newspaper and news website. These awards celebrate the organizations that prioritize a people-centered culture and give employees a voice that enables them to meet today’s ever-evolving technological, social, and economic challenges. F.A. Davis was ranked #3 among the top 52 mid-sized companies with 150-499 employees and was also recognized with a Special Award for Work/Life Flexibility.
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