Surgical technician pilot program graduates first class
Nine Swedish caregivers completed the inaugural Accelerated Surgical Technician Project.
When Swedish Health Services saw an opportunity to partner with Clover Park Technical College (CPTC) to train surgical technician students, the results were a win-win for Swedish and caregivers’ career advancement.
In November, Swedish and CPTC in Lakewood celebrated the first graduating class of a 26-week surgical technician training program. All nine grads of the pilot program are Swedish caregivers, who will take their health-care careers into the operating room.
Swedish has been committed to growing the ranks of skilled surgical technicians, in support of enhancing operating room utilization. In support of this goal, CPTC proposed the innovative, direct training program at Swedish, which is on-site and specifically tailored for Swedish caregiver needs, including a schedule that accommodated full-time caregivers’ schedules so they could attend classes outside of their normal working hours. Course content included lab activities, instrumentation and intraoperative concepts, and progressive skills and evaluations.
“It was a pleasure to teach the first surgical technology apprentice program here through Clover Park. It was an exciting experience as I got to see some very motivated people improving their knowledge, as well as striving for better lives for themselves, their families and caring for other families. I know that the students will go on to do great things and achieve the success they have strived for,” says Tavaris Shandle, program instructor at CPTC. He advised grads to "dream big, work hard and success will find you."
While the program was a non-credit course of study, students are certified to work in an operating room and are eligible to matriculate into the CPTC's two-year, fully accredited degree program and apply for academic credit for prior learning towards the degree.
Swedish congratulates these students and their commitment to success in this innovative approach to education and career advancement.
About Providence Swedish
Providence Swedish has served the Puget Sound region since the first Providence hospital opened in Seattle in 1877 and the first Swedish hospital opened in 1910. The two organizations affiliated in 2012 and today comprise the largest health care delivery system in Western Washington, with 22,000 caregivers, eight hospitals and 244 clinics. A not-for-profit family of organizations, Providence Swedish provides more than $406 million in community benefit in the Puget Sound Region each year. The health system offers a comprehensive range of services and specialty and subspecialty care in a number of clinical areas, including cancer care, cardiovascular health, neurosciences, orthopedics, digestive health and women’s and children’s care.