Trade secrets of the nation's leading first assistant trainer help Directors of Surgical Services and OR Managers boost their own careers while improving the quality of surgical care, reducing staff attrition, and greatly enhancing surgeon satisfaction!

 

ACESA's first assistant training gives you

the power to solve 3 of your most critical issues!

 

“Problems are only opportunities in work clothes.”  –Henry J. Kaiser, CEO, Kaiser Steel

 

Dan Bump, the founder of the ACESA program, is using the success insights he gained and the secret methods he developed over the years to put some real teeth on your Performance Improvement program and put some wings on YOUR career.

“I'd love to help you enjoy tremendous financial and professional success. I'm Dan Bump - that short guy with the funny name who made it big in surgery. In fact, going from surgical scrub to freelance first assistant changed my life and gave me amazingly valuable insights that will help YOU move up the career ladder and earn a reputation as a 'change agent.'

As you continue reading, you'll see how you can use my experience to benefit your patients, your hospital, your staff, your surgeons, and YOUR career.

I'm not going to go much into my story and what brings me to the point in my career where I'm now effectively helping OR management in hospitals around the country fulfill their missions and advance their careers. If you want more on that, you can go to the home page and click 'About Dan Bump.'

Perhaps you don’t even have Surgical Assistants on your staff. I'm going to show you why its not only valuable but it's vital for you to get your current staff trained and certified for first assist in surgery.

 

ACESA is my crowning achievement because it put me in the best position to ensure nothing gets in the way of providing exactly what students need. However, since I've been so focused on student success, imagine my surprise when I found most of our students were enrolled by their employers primarily based on the employer's mission to improve performance and increase vital services to their surgeons.

 

When I discovered I was entirely blind to the many ways we unintentionally but powerfully benefited management, I started to compile a list of what you can expect once your scrub staff is properly trained and certified to first assist:

• You gain increased flexibility to run a hassle-free surgery schedule (since your staff is competent and credentialed in an additional role).

• You are more easily expedite the completion of the daily elective schedule (Reduce or eliminate delays in the schedule due to waiting for the assistant or trying to find a proper assistant. This is a big hassle for either you or the surgeon. So proper training will make both of you happier.)

• You have one more resource for effectively resolving scheduling conflicts.

• You can optimize utilization of your operating rooms.

• You maintain clinical competencies in ALL areas (including the often overlooked area of first assisting).

• You foster a professional climate in the OR (all staff members can be trained and certified to first assist, including on-the-job trained staff. OJT techs qualify for this training after completing a course of college-level basic sciences. We provide these basic sciences through distance-learning).

• Increase your compliance with Joint Commission standards (the Joint Commission is looking into whether scrub staff is first assisting without proper training and certification for that role... and then being recorded on the operative report as second scrub rather than the role they were performing – first assistant.)

• Reduce your risk and liability exposure (you, your staff, your surgeons, and your facility experience excessive exposure when your staff members first assist without proper training. Think what kind of damage a smart lawyer could do with this juicy tidbit. On top of that, he would start salivating if he found the first assistant was recorded in the op report as a second scrub. Could you imagine him making the additional claim that the records were falsified?).

• You will give your staff retention and recruitment program a shot in the arm. Professional growth is compelling to the right people. So you will powerfully retain your most talented and hard working people and will attract top-notch professionals who are motivated more by growth opportunities than by sign-on bonuses.

• 3 powerful ways to increase surgical revenue and be awarded a larger budget you didn't have before: 1) You can bill for first assistant services (3 different ways and we can help you optimize reimbursement); 2) Surgeons will increasingly utilize your facilities when they can count on having their favorite first assistant on all their cases; and 3) Enhance your reputation as a surgeon-friendly surgical facility. You'll more effectively attract an increasing number of NEW surgeons.

• And much, much more!

As you read every word on this web page, you are going to discover eye-opening facts and common-sense solutions that reveal the many ways you benefit. But as excited as you may get, you may still need the support of senior management in order to purchase this training for your staff. So look out for indications of how ACESA training fulfills the missions of both your hospital CEO and Risk Manager.

 

I can’t wait to see how your staff, your surgeons, your facility, and YOUR career all flourish as a result of your innovative problem solving.”   -Dan Bump, ACESA Founder

 

Call 1-888-221-5992 for details.

 

Take decisive action to

reduce your surgical risk and liability!

 

Don't lose sleep worrying about how…

 

• Your hospital’s financial health is at risk in this sue-happy society.

• You and your staff may be held personally responsible in a malpractice claim.

• Your career can be ruined and you can lose your home and other assets.

 

You’ll agree this is scary stuff – but it’s real! Let’s face it. If your hospital is like most in the country:

 

• Your surgical techs and OR nurses must first assist from time to time.

• Perhaps the scheduled assistant is late or doesn't show up.

• Problem: your techs and nurses lack training and certification to first assist.

• Many hospitals make it worse by recording them in the op report as a second scrub instead of first assistant.

 

This is a common dilemma in hospitals nationwide. But it is very problematic in medical/legal terms. A smart lawyer could use this information to weaken or destroy your defense in a malpractice case. He'd likely claim the OR record was falsified to cover up the fact that a person was assigned to first assist who wasn't trained and certified for the role.

 

You no longer have to choose between two bad options – #1 write the first assistant in as the second scrub or #2 risk exposure for using staff to first assist who weren’t properly trained for the role.

A much better option #3 is to properly train your staff to first assist with the ACESA program. When you do you can:

 

• Continue to assign your staff to assist to smooth out the surgery schedule and increase surgeon satisfaction.

• Enjoy increased flexibility to plug them into the first assistant position as needed.

• Accurately record the first assistant as the first assistant, not as the second scrub.

• Stop worrying about any future consequences related to training, credentialing, and accurate recording issues.

 

And here is unexpected plus for your Performance Improvement program. ACESA will prepare your staff for high-level surgical performance, more like an expert performs than clumsy new assistants do. Surgical risk is dramatically reduced because they won't make the mistakes common to untrained or newly trained assistants.

 

Imagine how reducing your surgical risk and liability so significantly will contribute to the wellbeing of your staff, your surgeons, and your facility. How will your decisive action in this matter increase your chances for career advancement?

 

Less legal exposure! “This is a great comprehensive and in-depth program. The six day class far exceeded my expectations and my surgeon's expectations as well. The video setup in conjunction with the tying trainer made learning all of the different techniques quick, easy, and most importantly – low stress!!! Validation is now available to me to back up my experience. The surgeons will have more confidence in my abilities and I will have less legal exposure. I believe this six day Surgical SkillLab has profoundly impacted my ability to function as a competent, trained, and safe assistant. I know my patients, my facility, and my surgeons will greatly benefit from this experience as well. As an RN, being the patient’s advocate is my utmost responsibility. Taking this class has made me acutely aware of how an untrained assistant places the patient in jeopardy.”      Stacey Parum, RN, CNOR, Director of Surgical Services    Scenic Mountain Medical Center    Big Spring, TX

 

Call 1-888-221-5992 for details.

 

We make it simple for your entire staff

to earn a recognized assisting credential.

 

The gold standard is proper training and recognized credential. It’s what they look for in the Medical Staff Office for credentialing, the Joint Commission for compliance to standards, and the courts in defense of a malpractice claim. Until recently, two categories of healthcare professionals on your staff have been unable to access this gold standard:

 

• On-the-job trained Surgical Techs are being required to take some extra college-level courses before they can take an accredited Surgical Assistant Program like ACESA’s. This would ordinarily mean going to a community college for night and weekend classes. Happily, these courses are now available through ACESA and we make it easy. We just, in effect, add 4-6 months of distance-learning studies to the assisting program.

• ADNs and Diploma Nurses are in a unique dilemma. They have to do the following before they can finally sit for the CRNFA exam (Certified RN First Assistant):

           1)  Take an AORN accepted RNFA program, and...

           2)  Earn a CNOR, and...

           3)  Go back to the university and get a BSN, and...

           4)  Get 2,000 hours of documented first assisting experience, and...

           5)  Then sit for the CRNFA exam.

That is a lot! You have to decide for yourself if it is too much. On top of that, if you decide to send your ADNs and Diploma nurses to one of the AORN accepted RNFA programs, they won’t be able to get certified anywhere! None of the alternate, nationally recognized certifying agencies accept the RNFA programs for eligibility.

 

Solution: Enroll your OR nurses, surgical techs, and others who are qualified in the ACESA Surgical Assistant Program (CNOR, BSN, and CST are all welcome but not required). Because it is CAAHEP accredited, ALL graduates of our program are eligible to sit for exams offered by the following national certifying agencies:

• NBSTSA (the National Board of Surgical Technology and Surgical Assisting)
• ABSA (the American Board of Surgical Assistants)

 

The credential earned from the NBSTSA is CFA (Certified First Assistant) and the ABSA offers the SA-C credential (Surgical Assistant – Certified). Both certifications are widely recognized around the country.

The ACESA program is also good toward the:

• Texas Surgical Assistant Licensure
• Illinois Surgical Assistant Registration
• Kentucky Surgical Assistant State Certification
• Perfectly positioned for other legislation being proposed

Examples of titles: Your nurses could wear the titles RN,CFA and/or RN,SA-C. Your techs could wear the titles ST,CFA and/or ST,SA-C (We haven't included all possible titles our graduates may have earned such as CNOR, BSN, CST, etc).

 

 

Call 1-888-221-5992 for details.

 

Learned amazing amount in just 6 days! “I enjoyed the interaction of team teaching. Loved the extreme patience with which you handled knot tying.  I was amazed at how much a person could learn in six days.”    John Jorgensen, Director of Surgical Services    Sioux Valley Vermillion Hospital    Vermillion, SD

 

I recommend it to my co-workers! “Dan, you’re an excellent teacher, I really learned a lot. Why didn’t you become a surgeon? It was really nice to learn something you haven’t seen and done before. In case of emergency, I will know how to anticipate what the surgeon needs. It took me a long time to familiarize myself with suturing technique and use of loupes in microvascular surgery but I made it and I’m happy with the experience I had. I have already recommended this class to my co-workers. Thank you very much.”       Ceferina Brinquis, OR Manager    Cibola General Hospital    Grants, NM

 

 

5 ways the ACESA Surgical Assistant Program

can assist you in managing your budget.

  

If a good portion of your day is consumed toiling over a budget, reading this web page could be the best thing that's happened to you in a long time. It'll save you time, money, and frustration!

In a time when hospitals are struggling financially to stay open, it's hard to justify education expenses. Education may be the first thing you strike off your budget. Here are 5 good reasons to write the ACESA program back in:

 

 

#1

The ACESA Surgical Assistant Program is easy on your budget.

The tuition at the time of this writing is a budget-friendly $4,995 and of course it is subject to change without notice. If you really have to stretch your budget or you want to put more of your staff through the program than your budget currently allows, you could use one of the these two strategies:

• You could get everyone you want into the program by using our payment plan. For the same price of getting just one person into the program, you could enroll 5 with our low down payment. Monthly payments are only $99 each and the employer could pay that or the students may be willing to pay it themselves as long as you cover the down payment.
• Another way to stretch your budget is to enroll your staff into the 6-day Surgical SkillLab only. This is the hands-on training part of the Surgical Assistant Program. It doesn't fully address all the liability and credentialing issues. But it does improve performance so it mitigates some of the training and surgical risk issues. Once the budget allows you can enroll them in the rest of the program to fix the rest of your credentiling issues.

 

Another powerful way you can save money is to invite us to your hospital to present the 6 day lab for your staff. We need a minimum $15,000 to bring the lab to you. But it saves you money on travel cost when you have to send them out-of-state for the lab. You also can get a big PR boost when you inform the community of your Performance Improvement efforts and the advantage it brings to them. Here are 2 options for your $15,000 investment:

 

• It allows you to enroll 1 to 3 of your employees. Or...

• Enroll 15 of your people using the payment plan. The monthly payments are $1,500 which the employer pays or requires the individual students to pay.

 

 

#2

Effective third party billing can turn your trained first assistants into extra 'revenue generators' to ignite your budget.

Dan Bump made $105,000 first assisting only 20 hours a week in surgery. If 10 of your staff spent half of their time first assisting, they could generate one to two million dollars (depending on the types of cases they assist on) in extra revenue for your facility that you didn't have before! Does that give you extra leverage to negotiate a larger budget for more training to elevate your staff and other pet projects?

The Surgical Assistant Program certainly pays for itself. Even after giving your new revenue generators a substantial raise, you'd still have a whole lot left over.

Example: You can get paid for the assisting service far more than you probably think. Let’s take an ACL Reconstruction as one example.

 

• You could charge for the first assistant on your superbill. That may get you $150 to $200 extra for this case. Or you could increase your room charge to cover the anticipated cost of your assisting service, including a profit margin.

• However, if you billed for that same case the way we do for our freelance Surgical Assistant clients, you would have received $900 to $1,200! The difference is huge.

• If you decide to train your entire staff to assist, this one management decision alone may result in an increased surgical revenue 3–5 million dollars. That is quite a legacy!

 

Simply put, we bill using a similar method as billing for private-practice surgeons rather than using the itemized superbill method used by Operating Rooms. A few hospitals have tried to bill like we do and have failed. So, let’s describe what can go wrong and what ACESA does to fix it.

 

Health insurance carriers receive the customary superbill for the surgery and pay it. Later, they receive a second bill from the hospital for the less customary assistant fee. The insurance company believes they have already paid the Operating Room bill for this patient so they deny payment for the assistant fee.

 

Hospitals aren’t accustomed to so many denials on their claims and most of them give up and go back to what they know best and what they are successful at.

To bill like ACESA, most hospital billing departments will have to:

• Learn a new billing system

• Hire more employees to run it

• Experience a lot of risk for no guarantee of a return

  

ACESA Assistant Billing can take all that risk out so there is only an up side when you use our billing service and our unique denial reduction system. All you'll have to do to participate is to separately incorportate your assisting department (This is nothing for your corporate lawyer. We could have our lawyer do it for you if you want).

 

 

 

Call 1-888-221-5992 for details.

 

 

#3

 

Attrition is expensive and can drain your budget. Treat your staff to ACESA training and you'll have to chase them out at gun point.

As you well know, attrition can take a heavy toll on your budget. The costs of acquiring and orienting good people can be over the top. By comparison, the cost of keeping good people is minimal. If you fund your staff’s first assistant training:

 

• You can contractually keep them at least another couple of years.
• Job satisfaction will go through the roof.
• Your staff will be relieved you have acted in their behalf to reduce their liability.
• They'll be grateful you are providing them with a great career opportunity.
• They'll be happy because they'll love their training and the new skills they acquire.

• A good pay raise will further spike their job satisfaction.

• Remember, you can afford raises with all that extra money coming in.

 

You'll also find first assistant training is a great recruiting incentive. Your recruiting efforts will not only be more fruitful but you’ll attract a higher quality employee than sign-on bonuses alone ever could.

 

 

#4

 

Surgeons will be so happy you provide highly trained assistants, they'll be extremely reluctant to take their cases anywhere else. They'll be 'recruit-proofed' for when competing hospitals try to tempt them away.

New hospitals move into your area and try to tempt your surgeons away. If they succeed, your facility could become a ghost town - a hospital closure statistic.

 

Surgeons get attached to their first assistants. They trust them, enjoy working with them, and don’t like working with anyone else. They’ll reschedule a case if it is impossible for their favorite assistant to be there.

 

If your staff has been well-trained to assist and over time they develop a surgeon's favorite status, your surgeons will resist any temptation when other hospitals come knocking – even if they also provide Surgical Assistants.

When do you want your staff to begin bonding with your surgeons like this? You can't start after the competition begins. You have to lay the foundation now. Maintaining your current surgeons is vital to your hospital and the ACESA Surgical Assistant Program could be key.

 

#5

  

Attract new surgeons like a maget. Increasing your OR utilization is the 'hidden benefit' that blows the rest out of the water!

Want some really great word-of-mouth advertising? You’ll get a barrel full if you treat your surgeons to a staff well-trained to first assist whenever they need or want it. Finding their own assistants is often one of a surgeon’s biggest hassles. Your surgeons will be so happy you got rid of their frustrations, they’ll talk up your facility to their colleagues.

 

Your CEO will want to use these points in his surgeon recruiting efforts:

 

• Surgeons won't have to waste time looking for an assistant last-minute.

• Surgery delays can be avoided.

• Most of the time, he'll be able to count on using his favorite first assistant.

• On the few times his favorite assistant is unavailable, he can count on a highly-trained substitute.

• The surgeon's liability is reduced because the first assistants are formally trained and nationally certified. You don't use the scrub tech or nurse who wasn't trained to assist for an 'extra pair of hands.'

• Surgeons will get highly-skilled first assistants they won't have to keep one eye on while keeping the other eye on doing the procedure.

• Your assistants were trained by the American Center for Excellence in Surgical Assisting, Inc. That means they got the best training available bar none. It shows in your staff's knowledge and performance.

• Since first assistants are always available from your staff, surgeons won't have to assist each other as much (or ever). This frees them up to do more of their own surgeries, practice building activities, or just spend more time with their families!

 

So in addition to maintaining and 'recruit proofing' your current surgeons, your CEO will be further empowered to be a more effective surgeon recruiter. New surgeons bring in new surgeries and a tremendous amount of new surgical revenue.

 

 

Call 1-888-221-5992 for details.

 

 

Skills that are useful for a lifetime! "ACESA is a knowledgeable company with YOUR success as their ultimate goal. The suturing and tying techniques that I learned were very beneficial. Knowing the best way to achieve the desired result and how to work under certain circumstances helped to build my confidence for working in almost any situation. The program has been extremely helpful in developing my skills to becoming an exceptional first assistant. The teaching styles accommodate every type of learner and also cover topics that may not have been covered in (tech) school. Overall, the program helps build confidence and provides skills that will be useful for a lifetime. It is great for novices and those that want to refine their skills."      Denise Skarin, ST    Wyoming Medical Center    Casper, WY

 

For details and to register

your staff in the 6-day Surgical SkillLab...

 

Click Here

 

or in the Surgical Assistant Program...

  

Click Here

 

You already fund training as an employee benefit, often with no tangible benefit to the employer.

Fund this program and the financial and clinical benefits will weave throughout the entire fabric of your organization!

 

 

Give us a call now at 1-888-221-5992 and ask for Sarah. She’ll help you analyze your specific need for training, liability reduction, and revenue enhancements.

p.s. Also inquire about any 6-day labs in your area you can get your staff in.

p.p.s. If there aren’t any labs in your area, be sure to ask about bringing the lab to your facility for added convenience, cost savings, and good community PR.

 

Refined my skills after finishing RNFA program! "ACESA is great! The labs were of great benefit for all the hands-on experience. The skill labs were extremely helpful in refining my skills after finishing my RNFA program. It provided more of the 'hands-on' aspect to complement what I had already learned to becoming an expert at assisting in surgery."      Connie Heaps, RN, CNOR, RNFA    Steele Memorial Medical Center    Salmon, ID

 

Made me stand out! "The people at ACESA are extremely helpful. The hands-on training really makes a big difference. I never thought I would learn so much in just 6 days. This lab has gone so far beyond my expectations, I feel as though I have been given an enormous gift by Dan. It is so wonderful to know that there are still genuinely good people in this world. He has restored my faith in people again. The knowledge and experience you gain will certainly make you stand out as an experienced SA."      Georgina Saldana, CST    St. Joseph Medical Center    Houston, TX

 

Such an adventure! "This week has been such an adventure. On top of being a great learning experience, it has been fun. Having a relaxed learning environment helps the learning process. These exercises have been very helpful in incorporating all the techniques that we have learned. This course was an excellent resource. I feel more confident and competent to assist in surgery."       Gloria D. Jackson, RN, BSN, CNOR    South Lake Hospital    Clermont, FL

 

Approved and regulated by the Colorado Department of Higher Education,

Private Occupational School Board.

Agents licensed By the Colorado Department of Higer Education,

Division of Private Occupational Schools.

 

To verify, go to www.state.co.us/dpos/

 

 

ACESA, Inc.

Phone: 1-888-221-5992

Fax: 1-303-221-4747

4950 S. Yosemite St., F2 #343

Greenwood Village, Colorado   80111

info@acesatraining.com

 

Brochure | School Catalog | Consumer Guide | Enroll Now

Home | Surgeons | Training

 

** The ACESA Surgical Assistant Program is approved by the American Board of Surgical Assistants, Inc. (ABSA). Upon passing the ABSA exam, graduates can use the title 'SA-C' (Surgical Assistant - Certified.)

 

             

 

Covidien, W.L. Gore & Associates, Inc., and Ansell Occupational Healthcare are proud to provide surgical materials to ACESA to greatly enhance formal Surgical Assistant training for OR Nurses, Surgical Techs, and other qualified surgical professionals. Covidien also provides suture profiles and a knot tying manual for download from their website(click on the logo above).