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Surgical Technology Program Using Simulation Technology
Horry-Georgetown Technical College (HGTC) is proud to announce that the surgical technology program is using state-of-the-art simulation equipment. The LapSimST simulator is the latest technology available for surgical technology instruction. HGTC purchased two simulators for students to utilize while obtaining the Associate Degree in Surgical Technology. Along with the LapSimST, the program also uses PeriOpSim to allow the student to prepare for surgery in a virtual setting.
“Surgical intervention is becoming more and more advanced,” said Erin Ivey, HGTC Assistant Chair and Program Director of Surgical Technology. “Successful patient outcomes have become more reliant on minimally invasive techniques that include laparoscopic and robotic approach to surgery. Surgical Technologists must be proficient at endoscopic camera operation and laparoscopic assisting.”
The LapSimST simulator allows students to develop skills in the safety of the lab setting. This advancement in skills can be measured in the system, so faculty can show a level of proficiency before the student is exposed to the clinical setting. The students are much more advanced once they begin operating.
“PeriOp Simulation is also a tool that is used in the HGTC Surgical Technology program that places the student into the virtual operating room setting and allows the student to function in the role of a surgical technologist during various cases. The application records anticipation of surgical needs, and sterile technique skills and grades each student to show progression in knowledge and skill,” continued Professor Ivey.
There are other skills and knowledge gained in the experience as it applies to the intraoperative management of a surgical case, such as anatomy, directional terms, depth perception, surgical sequencing and phases/anticipation skills, and teamwork.
“This kind of preparation increases the students’ skills and knowledge, increases clinical efficiency, and increases patient safety,” explained Ivey. “The students receive a level of understanding and knowledge that was not obtainable before simulation.”
The HGTC Associate in Applied Science Surgical Technology degree prepares skilled students to enter the healthcare environment as a surgical technologist. Graduates work under the supervision and delegatory authority of a surgeon to facilitate the safe and effective conduct of invasive and non-invasive surgical procedures, ensuring the operating room environment is safe, equipment functions properly, and the operative procedure is conducted under conditions that maximize patient safety. Surgical technologists are experts in the theory and application of the principles of asepsis and sterile technique to combine the knowledge of human anatomy, surgical procedures, and implementation and tools and technologies to facilitate a physician’s performance of invasive therapeutic and diagnostic procedures.