FIRST IN, STILL FIRST
ACE’s ‘Original’ SA Program
ACE Set the Standard
and still sets the pace – for surgical assistant mastery
If you’ve ever felt your training put you a half-step behind the case, you know the cost. In the OR, a half-step is a mile. The fix isn’t louder marketing. It’s lineage – training where the role began and keeps improving.
Why the “original” matters in Surgical Assisting
Some programs claim they “do it all.” We don’t. I started the very first Surgical Assistant Program for working surgical professionals with one thought in mind. Decades later we continue to do that one thing relentlessly: build true Surgical Assistants with surgeon-level skills and understanding. That started here – and it compounds. Like good hemostasis, the earlier you control what matters, the smoother everything after.
Here’s an ‘original’ that illustrates the point
When you think of sutures, Ethicon is likely the first thing that pops into your mind. The same is true with surgeons. If you’ve ever worked with Ethicon suture, you know what quality looks and feels like. Ethicon set the bar; copycats chased. The copycat can work, but no matter how hard they try, they can’t give you that ‘original’ look and feel of quality you got from Ethicon.
ACE is the ‘Ethicon’ of Surgical Assistant Programs – the original standard that wins loyalty because it performs when it counts. Copycats come along but can’t give you the look and feel of quality that ACE can – because they don’t understand the premise in the first place. Even if they could, they can’t catch up because ACE had such a head start. By the time they finally understand, we are already light years ahead.
Always a step ahead – for you and your career
The advantage of being original isn’t nostalgia; it’s runway. Our students and alumni benefit from things others don’t offer or can’t sustain.
Being first wasn’t a one-time medal; it’s a starting line we kept moving forward. That’s why, even when competitors nip at our heels and grab a sliver of market share, the gap doesn’t shrink – it grows. We were the first and got a huge head start. That’s why we innovate faster and stay far ahead of the pack.
The ACE Alumni Society
This is your professional backbone: referrals, surgeon introductions, and job leads. It’s also your ongoing confidence network, so you never feel like you’re “making the leap” alone. Alumni help alumni, and surgeons notice.
Surgeon-level continuing education
We don’t stop at graduation. Our CE is built to sharpen anticipation, anatomy, and intraoperative decision-making – the skills surgeons rely on when the case turns. It’s not theory for tests; it’s training for career excellence.
Surgeon-level income
Now we are taking it to the next-level. We are putting the exciting finishing touches on a system and creating strategic alliances that will position our alumni perfectly to benefit from the second part of our mission – surgeon-level income!
When you qualify and sign up for this program, you’ll be able to start your own surgical assisting business and be able to make money on your cases in as little as two weeks later. No waiting 3-6 months to find out how much you are going to be paid for your work – or if you’re going to be paid at all. This alliance will be doing all the waiting and all the risk taking. And, depending on your case volume, case types, and insurance mix, you should be making a 6-figure income pretty much right away. That’s how we set the standard for ‘original.’ That’s the ACE signature.
How Can You Benefit?
The “original” advantage means your training translates faster, your judgment lands sooner, and your professional reputation compounds with each case. Copycats can imitate a syllabus; they can’t reproduce lineage, quality that matters, or trust. In a profession where outcomes and efficiency are everything, that difference is career-shaping. So, what can you do to gain the largest possible advantage from your original training?
- The first thing is also the most obvious. If you haven’t done so already, enroll in the original ACE Surgical Assistant Program right away. It doesn’t pay to wait.
- Keep your eyes open for opportunities. Get to know your industry and your opportunities by joining the ACE Alumni Society. ACE students can also join and get a head start (remember how that works).
- Continue your education. But remember it’s surgeon-level you are going for – not just easy credits. ACE offers a growing number of continuing education courses that meets your need for growth and not solely credential maintenance.
- ACE training has prepared you for extraordinary financial success. Now we are making it easy with a self-employment program that makes owning your own business as easy and reliable as going to work for someone else, except you are your own boss, the challenge is more exciting, and the paycheck is larger but just as regular.
The Bottom Line
The “original” isn’t a museum piece – it’s a moving runway. ACE built the Surgical Assistant standard and keeps pushing it forward so you can practice with surgeon level confidence, earn surgeon level trust, and grow a career that doesn’t stall. Like choosing the right suture when the tissue matters, the right training holds when the going gets tough – and keeps holding years later.
So, refer your friends, join the Alumni Society, get the monthly ACE Briefing, and read my new book SelfEmployed? A Surgical Assistant’s Guide to Breaking Free and Thriving and experience the benefits of the original for yourself. You’ll never be sorry you did.