MassBay Surgical Tech Students Get Tour of Museum of World War II

From MassBay Community College:

FRAMINGHAM, MA – MassBay Community College surgical technology students will visit Natick’s Museum of World War II and receive a behind the scenes tour on Monday, September 26, 2016. The incoming freshmen, who are currently studying surgical instruments and the set-up of an operating room, will learn how their chosen profession is rooted in the history of World War II. The 75th anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor will be observed on December 7, 2016, so this visit is especially timely and important for the students. The Museum will open a new exhibit in October dedicated to the anniversary, titled The 75th Anniversary of Pearl Harbor: Why We Still Remember, which will be part of the student’s tour.

Mass Bay’s Surgical Technology Department is led by Chair, Richard Clark, CST, MA, an experienced educator and also a retired Air Force surgical technologist. Professor Clark describes the profession’s origins in WWII, when the immediate demand for surgical personnel to treat wounded soldiers was overwhelming. “Specific training of corpsmen as surgical technologists became a separate military career path and then an allied health field. The surg techs, or scrub techs as most of the doctors and nurses called them, were and are integral parts of the surgical team. This is the first trip for MassBay students, but the start of a wonderful collaboration. The students are taking advantage of an amazing opportunity that is right in their back yard, giving them background history on their profession. The Museum of World War II has acquired the only complete Mobile Army Surgical Hospital (MASH) in the world,” said Clark.

“World War II holds so many relevant points of connection for all kinds of students today,” said The Museum of World War II director of education Marshall Carter. “Very few people have ever seen an intact World War II hospital, and we’re thrilled that MassBay’s surgical students will be able to go “behind the scenes” at the Museum. Portable hospitals like this one were a huge leap forward in surgical technology and strategies. They’ll see, up-close, the actual operating theaters where soldiers were treated within earshot of battlefields, the triage area where injured soldiers were assessed, and the surgical instruments used. Most importantly, they’ll be in the very tent where lives that otherwise would have been lost, were in fact saved. It’s our hope that the MassBay students will learn about surgery, but also be inspired as they begin their training for this vital career.”

Surgical technologists prepare the operating room, including the sterile field, setting up surgical equipment, supplies and solutions. During surgery, surgical technologists pass instruments, fluids and supplies to the surgeon and prepare and manage surgical equipment. Surgical technologists simultaneously manage the sterile field and specimens. Surgical technologists perform a count of sponges and supplies to prevent foreign retained objects. Mass Bay’s Surgical Technology Program is CAAHEP-accredited. Graduates of the 1 year certificate program take the national Certified Surgical Technologist (CST) examination administered by the National Board of Surgical Technology and Surgical Assisting and are employed at hospitals all over the New England Region.

For more information on MassBay’s Surgical Technology program is available here.

Image via MassBay Community College.