Tarrant County College’s Surgical Technology program will mark its 40th anniversary Friday with an informal celebration from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. at Northeast Campus’ Center Corner. Scores of graduates, faculty from throughout the district, physicians, nurses and staff will attend the event that will feature scrapbooks, photo displays and exhibits of equipment used over the years.
Donnie Braziel, a 1971 graduate of the second Surgical Technology class and program coordinator since 2001, recalls how students once manually cut threads they used to practice tying blood vessels. They resterilized equipment and fluids, he said. Laser equipment and video resources were unheard of.
There’s much to celebrate, he said, particularly the program’s status as the finest program of its type in North Texas. A retired military nurse, Patsy Hill, launched the program with an uncompromising marching order that’s still followed: “Do It Right.”
Over the last 10 years, the program has graduated 265 students, he said, and typically scores a 100 percent employment rate. “This last class of 18 students had a 100 percent certification rate,” he noted. In Texas, surgical technologists must be certified.
TCC’s Surgical Technology program partners with seven area hospitals that provide hand-on training and experience for students in the 11-month program.
Surgical technologists must be detail-minded individuals and calm under intense pressure. TCC’s program turns out the best, Braziel said.
Written by guest contributor David House