On Friday April 26th and Saturday April 27th, nearly 50 surgical technologists from all across the state of South Dakota travelled to Watertown to attend the Association of Surgical Technologists’ South Dakota State Assembly Spring 2024 Conference held at Lake Area Technical College. This conference allows surgical technologists to network with others in the area, attend workshops and educational programs, and listen to multiple speakers from the area. Speakers included: Austin Dale CRNA, Dr. Eric Woolley, Dr. Keegan Maxwell, Dr. Svien Senne, Dr. Ellen Hopper, Dr. Nicholas Harms, Dr. Dalton McDaniel, Dr. Gregory Gerrish, and Wesley Grantham from Stryker. All attendees received 9 CE (continuing education) credits by attending the conference.
Stacey Vande Zande, CSFA, from Prairie Lakes Healthcare System organized the event, stating, “The SDSA AST Conference is a great opportunity for surgical techs to not only fulfill continuing education requirements, but also provide networking opportunities and the chance to learn about the latest and greatest surgical techniques.”
The Association of Surgical Technologists (AST) was established in 1969 with the mission of ensuring quality patient care.
Today, AST is proud to acknowledge more than 55,000 members and represents the interests of more than 80,000 practitioners nationwide. AST actively promotes education for the profession; legislatively advocates for practitioner recognition; supports state-level constituent organizations; and has committed to students as the future of the profession.
As the oldest and most widely recognized professional organizations for surgical technologists, AST's primary purpose is to ensure that surgical technologists possess the knowledge and skill sets to administer the highest quality of care for every patient. Aeger primo!
