Qualifications

Who qualifies for the program?

If you graduated from medical school (foreign or domestic) but have yet to be matched to a residency program in the United States, then ACE may have the perfect solution for you. First, congratulations! You graduated successfully from medical school. That is a huge accomplishment. But now your hopes for the future may seem to be dashed because you weren’t matched to residency program, a requirement for becoming a fully licensed Medical Doctor.

The sad thing is you weren’t denied a match because you didn’t do well in medical school. There just are not enough residency slots to go around. There also seems to be some polities involved in the selection process. One example is the bureaucracy makes it very hard for foreign trained MDs to get into a residency program. Another example is connections to a powerful politician gives one physician an unfair advantage and leaves other qualified doctors out in the cold.

Many unmatched physicians have found that becoming a Surgical Assistant is a good way to get back into medicine and earn a better income while waiting for a residency slot to open. It’s certainly better than just giving up and taking a position in a fast-food restaurant. Surgical Assisting is an excellent opportunity for you to meet and work with surgeons who could directly experience what kind of doctor you would make and then highly recommend you to a residency program – maybe even get you to the head of the line, where you belong.

You have some training options that require judgment, taking into consideration your own unique circumstances.

If you are an unmatched physician, you are eligible to get certified by the American Board of Surgical Assistants (ABSA) after taking just the ACE 6-Day Surgical SkillLab. That is a solid option and may work very well for you. However, some of our unmatched physicians have reported that the lab by itself wasn’t enough to get the job – even with certification. The interviewer asked about their experience in an American operating room. That was a missing vital element to the interviewer.

That question wouldn’t even be an issue if the physician had graduated from the full Surgical Assistant Program. This would be another option for the unmatched physician to strongly consider. The good news is that for you, the ACE Surgical Assistant Program isn’t very long. This is because a substantial amount of credit is awarded for your advanced medical degree.

If you are a foreign-trained surgeon or a surgeon who wants to retire and assistant, you don’t need any training at all from ACE in order to qualify to sit for the ABSA exam. But you may want to think about the following considerations:

Foreign trained surgeons would benefit from learning different techniques at the lab and to find out how they do things in an American operating room. Maybe there are differences. This is also another item in your portfolio that shows you went above and beyond to get this job.
Surgeons in general, even great surgeons were taught to be surgeons, not assistants. The surgical techniques assistants use are the same as surgeons. But the applications of those skills when focused on assisting may not be taught in a surgical residency program.

After passing the ABSA certifying exam, unmatched physicians and surgeons are awarded the nationally and internationally respected American surgical credential SA-C (Surgical Assistant – Certified).

You may not be working as a physician. But as a Surgical Assistant, you will directly contribute to positive patient outcomes. Isn’t that the reason you became a doctor in the first place? You wanted to make a real difference in the outcomes your patients enjoy?

The ACE 6-day lab is a big confidence builder. Your new surgical skills will speak well of you, inspire your surgeon to trust you with surgeon-level tasks, and open doors to expanded practice. Read more about the ACE Surgical Assistant Program with the 6-day lab included. Or read more about the Stand-Alone 6-Day Surgical SkillLab.

OR Nurses

NOTE: If you are an LPN or LVN with recent operating room experience, you have a great scholastic background for Surgical Assistant training.

The ACE Surgical Assistant Program is great for RNs with operating room experience. Especially if you are a Diploma Nurse or Associate’s Degree Nurse, you’ve probably felt excluded from becoming an RNFA unless you were willing to jump through some extraordinary and onerous hoops.

RN eligibility requirements to sit for NASC’s certification exam to become CRNFA include the following:

Hold a bachelor’s degree or higher in any field
Current, unrestricted RN licensure in the country where currently practicing
Current CNOR certification (requires 2 years of experience in the OR). This requirement is waived for advanced practice registered nurses (CNS, NP, CNM, and CRNA).
Completion of an acceptable formal RNFA program that meets the AORN standards for RN first assistant education programs. A copy of the certificate of completion must accompany the application.
A minimum of 2,000 documented hours of practice as an RNFA (after graduating from the program). Hours may include preoperative, intraoperative, and postoperative patient care.

That is a lot! And it could take as long as 8 years to become CRNFA:

Upgrade to a bachelor’s degree 2 years
Earn a CNOR 2 years of experience in the OR
Take an accepted RNFA program 2 years
Post graduate RNFA experience 2 years
Total years before CRNFA eligibility 8 years!

Even BSN’s or RN’s with higher degrees have chosen the ACE Surgical Assisting Program primarily because of the 6 days of hands-on, ‘surgeon-level’ training.

If you decide to take an accepted RNFA program but don’t complete the other requirements, you can’t get certified as a first assistant anywhere! There are other nationally recognized certifying agencies for first assistants that would work better for you and respect your current educational achievements and experience.

For instance, compare the CRNFA eligibility requirements with those for the national certifying exam administered by the American Board of Surgical Assistants (ABSA):

OR Nurses must have a valid RN license in the state where they practice
Complete an ABSA approved program (like ACE)
CNOR is welcome but not required
Bachelor’s degree is welcome but not required
Immediately eligible to sit for the exam upon graduation from the approved program

The total time commitment for becoming an RNFA, SA-C (Surgical Assistant – Certified) is up to 16 months for completing the program. And since the ACE Program is fully self-paced, some students have finished in as little as 4 months because they have more time for study and are exceptional students.

You’ve worked very hard to get where you are as an experienced OR Nurse. Judge for yourself whether or not CRNFA comes at too high a price at this stage in your career. It’s good to know you have options.

Once you pass the ABSA exam, you’ll be awarded the nationally recognized first assisting credential SA-C. If you’re an ADN, here’s how you could present your credentials: ADN, RN, SA-C. You may also call yourself an RNFA if you want to. RNFA is just a generic title standing for any RN who first assists in surgery. It’s not a title awarded by a school or a certifying agency.

Physical Assistants and Nurse Practitioners

How we can help PA’s, NP’s, and other Advanced Practice Nurses (CNS, NP, CNM, and CRNA) depends on their objectives.

If you need to gain advanced surgical skills for a new job or just to improve your surgical performance; and/or if you need proof that you’ve had skills training specific to the operating room; then taking just the ACE 6-Day Surgical SkillLab may be your perfect solution. Or…
If you want and/or need to be certified as a Surgical Assistant in order to obtain surgical privileges, then you need to take an ABSA approved Surgical Assistant Program like ACE. The good news is that for you, the ACE Surgical Assistant Program isn’t very long. This is because a substantial amount of credit is awarded for your advanced medical/nursing degree.

Completing the ACE Surgical Assistant Program makes you eligible to sit for the American Board of Surgical Assistants (ABSA) certifying exam. The credential you’ll earn is SA-C (Surgical Assistant – Certified). And you can add that proudly to your current list of prestigious credentials.

An increasing number of State Medical and Nursing Boards, hospital credentialing committees, and patient health insurance providers are requiring ‘surgery specific’ certification and/or training before mid-level practitioners can first assist in surgery.

Despite your advanced medical/nursing education and degrees, most PA and NP programs don’t properly prepare you to first assist in surgery. This might seem strange because the number of first assisting jobs for mid-level professionals is ever increasing.

The ACE Program also solves another problem that isn’t so evident. When surgeons first start working with you, they will analyze your surgical skills or lack thereof and judge whether you deserve more opportunities to perform or not. After all they are governed by the axiom to do no harm.

If you perform surgical skills at surgeons-level, they’ll judge that it will benefit their patients to let you perform at the level ACE trains you for.
If you haven’t been taught surgical skills, then surgeons must protect their patients from you. Short of firing you, some surgeons may train you on-the-job. Others may not. They may just restrict you to tasks less likely to harm the patient, like holding retractors, suctioning, and cutting suture.

Surgical Technologists

Look. It’s likely you’ve been doing some first assisting already and not getting any recognition, such as:

On the operative report: You weren’t the second scrub
In your paycheck
From yourself: Pride in a job well done and greater impact on patient outcomes

Stop handing the instruments and start using them to perform surgical technique as directed by your surgeons. The ACE Surgical Assistant Program is ideal for you.

Techs can’t do that!

Has your surgeon ever asked you to do something that got you in trouble with an associate or administration? “Techs can’t do that” they’ll say. They may think Surgical Assistants are techs with wound closure training – more advanced versions of Surgical Technologists. Properly trained Surgical Assistants are less like techs and more like PAs – only just for surgery. Taking it a step further, they are really more like surgeons who first assist in surgery.

When you take a Surgical Assistant Program, you are entering a different profession with different standards and skillsets. You are not upgrading what you can do as a tech. Some hospitals refer to you as a ST Surgical Assistant. This can limit your opportunities because of what a tech can’t do.

You’ll need an effective response when you hear ‘techs can’t do that.’ In karate, you might block a punch and then counter by using your opponent’s energy against them. Here’s how that translates to your real-life scenario.

An associate accuses you of doing something outside your scope of practice (a punch). Respond by agreeing (draining power from their accusation). Simply say, “of course techs can’t do that!” You just put them back on their heels. Next, counter with your own punch, “that’s why I went to school to become a Surgical Assistant.”

That is a powerful one-two punch. But you have no defense if you were first assisting without going to school. Also, you and your employer have a lot of liability if you do anything in surgery you aren’t trained and certified to do. Do yourself a favor and eliminate this liability completely with the ACE Surgical Assistant Program.

Call 866-223-2778 NOW and speak with Keith in Admissions! He’ll put you at ease, answer all your questions, and put you on the fast track to remarkable career success.

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How do you qualify?

Formally Trained Surgical Technologists: The clinical experience in your tech program counts. While more experience is even better, formally trained techs qualify for the ACE Surgical Assistant Program immediately upon graduating from a Surgical Technology Program. Here are your eligibility requirements:

Copy of your Surgical Technology Program diploma
Official transcripts from your Surgical Technology Program
Letters from two surgeons recommending you to the ACE program
Surgical Technologist certification is welcome, but not required

On-The-Job Trained Surgical Technologists (including LPN’s and LVN’s): If you are a motivated and experienced OJT Surgical Tech – whether off-the-street or and LPN or LVN, you no longer need to worry about limited opportunities for career advancement!

We have designed a Surgical Assistant Program specifically for OJT Surgical Techs. This special program is an ACE exclusive. The Basic OR Sciences are added to the ACE Surgical Assistant Program. This includes Medical Terminology, Anatomy & Physiology, Microbiology, Pathophysiology, and Surgical Pharmacology. Here are your eligibility requirements for the Surgical Assistant Program:

Proof of graduation from high school (or GED equivalency)
Proof (transcripts) of the Basic OR Sciences. If you don’t already have them or can’t prove it, you can take our online Basic OR Sciences program. This is an add-on to the ACE Surgical Assistant Program for OJT Surgical Techs.
A letter from your employer or surgeon showing you have at least 2 recent years of scrub experience in the OR
Letters from two surgeons recommending you to the ACE program
Surgical Technologist certification is welcome, but not required

Military Surgical Techs and OR Nurses

ACE is a veteran-owned company. We perfectly understand your circumstances and we thank you from the bottom of our hearts for your service. Now it’s time to show we appreciate the chance you’ve given us to be of service to you. The ACE program is a good fit for military trained Surgical Techs & OR Nurses. It actually does 2 great things for you:

You are probable already doing a little or a lot of first assisting in operating room. Either you must wing it, or you’ve gotten some on-the-job training. Taking the ACE Surgical Assistant Program will enhance your surgical skills and knowledge (we teach surgeon-level skills) and help you do a much better job when first assisting. Doing your best is a matter of personal pride. It’ll also look impressive when you are up for promotion.
Once you are ready to leave the armed forces, you must contend with transitioning back into civilian life. You want every tool in your portfolio to help you get that civilian job in surgery. If you have the ACE Surgical Assistant Program and the ABSA certification in your portfolio, your potential employer will likely see you as someone who desires to be the best and who would provide added value to the position. You become a leading contender, the obvious choice. Suddenly, civilian life doesn’t seem to be working against you anymore.

ACE training perfectly fits your unique military circumstances. You are very busy. You work unusual hours. You may be deployed to a foreign military base or theater of operations at a moment’s notice. So…

Why choose ACE?

The ACE program is online. Easy participation anywhere in the world with internet access.
You must be off duty for just 6 days to get intensive hands-on training (bootcamp for surgical assistants)
You get clinical experience at your duty station with the support of surgeons you currently work with. ACE has had clinical affiliations with several military hospitals including Walter Reed National Military Medical Center. We can work with your military hospital too – whether in the US or overseas.
The ACE Surgical Assistant Program qualifies you to sit for the nationally and internationally recognized certifying exam administered by ABSA and become SA-C (Surgical Assistant – Certified)

If you are being asked to first assist in surgery occasionally or as a regular part of your duties, the ACE program can help you achieve a much higher level of performance. We focus on advanced ‘surgeon-level’ assisting skills. Decide for yourself if that would give you a greater sense of contribution to patient outcomes, a sense of pride in a job well done, and opportunities for advancement.

Words from Our Founder

“When I got out of the Navy in 1978, it was difficult to get a job as a Surgical Tech. It seemed my military training wasn’t as respected as I had hoped. But with persistence, I finally landed a job. Although, I was happy to work in the operating room again, I always felt I was under-utilized based on the first assisting skills I picked up in the Navy. I wasn’t appreciated for what I was actually capable of.

It wasn’t until I received first assistant training and national certification that I began to realize my full potential. I was finally allowed to match my military experience in civilian life. In fact, I went well beyond because of my surgeon-level skills training.

I also started a Surgical Assistant business so I could bill the patient’s health insurance for my services just like surgeons do. Compare: In the 1980s I worked 50-60 hours a week to make just $35,000 as a Surgical Tech. In 1989 I began making $105,000 as a self-employed Surgical Assistant working just 20 hours a week! Quite a difference.

This is the potential I want to impart to our military trained OR professionals as they prepare to transition to civilian life.” Dan Bump CST, CSFA, SA-C, President/CEO ACE Surgical Assisting, Inc.

How do you qualify for the ACE Surgical Assistant Program?

We give a great amount of credence to your military training and experiences. This is all we’ll need from you:

Provide a copy of your diploma and form DD214 showing your military training
Certification and/or a degree is welcome but not required
Letters from two surgeons recommending you to the ACE program

OR Directors

If you are an OR Manager, Director of Surgical Services, or hospital CEO, you work hard for the continued financial viability of your facility. Escalating competition between hospitals for surgeons and patients combined with declining reimbursements is for some hospitals the knockout punch. A program which helps reverse that trend is very valuable.

Hospitals close every day. Before that, they’ve had to endure one or more painful courses of layoffs. It might seem counterintuitive at first, but the ACE Surgical Assistant Program could help you utilize the human resources you already have to increase your surgical revenue.

By enrolling your Surgical Technologists and OR Nurses in the ACE Surgical Assistant Program, you save and make money for your facility. Let’s see how:

Reduce Attrition: Your people will be happier working at your facility and are less likely to look for other opportunities if you help them grow and advance their careers. ACE can be your attrition-reducing program. You are painfully aware of your attrition costs. You can be a hero and put a big dent in them.
Increase OR Utilization: More cases per surgical suite. Properly trained Surgical Assistants make the case run smoother, reduce operative times, and speed up room turnover times. Increased utilization equals increased surgical revenue.
Retain Your Surgeons: Access to a well-trained assisting staff is very attractive to surgeons. So much so, surgeons become addicted to their favorite assistant(s). Your surgeons:
- Are most happy when they get their favorite assistant for every case
- Won’t have to impose on another surgeon to assist
- Won’t have to go through the hassle of finding an outside assistant

Bottom line, the happier surgeons are, the more recruit-proof they’ll be when other hospitals try to lure them away.

Recruit New Surgeons: A well-trained Surgical Assistant department attracts new surgeons. Right along with the latest technology, Surgical Assistants are a very effective recruiting tool. They will do the following for your newly recruited surgeons:
- Reduce scheduling hassles
- Make surgery more pleasant
- Reduce anxiety levels
- Reduce wasted time
- Improve surgical outcomes
- Make surgery safer
- Reduce anesthesia time

You already do a lot to make your surgeons happy. Well-trained Surgical Assistants could be the best bang for your buck. New surgeons mean more patients – priceless.

Reduce Liability: Let’s face it. Your Surgical Techs and OR Nurses are already first assisting in surgery. They haven’t learned to be good at it and they aren’t certified to do it. When surgeons can’t find an assistant or their regular assistant is late or doesn’t show up at all, somebody from your OR staff steps up. Judge for yourself how much your liability would increase, if anyone performed in a surgical role they weren’t formally trained and certified for.

Discuss it with your Risk Manager or Compliance Officer. You are probably already concerned about the trending increase of surgical errors in this industry. A well-trained Surgical Assistant is far less likely to make such an error and is more capable of helping your surgeons avoid them as well.

Joint Commission Compliance: A Joint Commission site visit is a high stress event. They review personnel records to determine if hospital staff is trained and certified for what they do. If they are assisting without proper training and certification, it’ll show up in this review.

We go all out to please corporate clients like you. ‘Convenience’ and ‘budget-friendly’ are hallmarks of an ACE education. You’ll save and make so much more than you’ll ever spend on training.

Students can continue working while they train. Most of the ACE Program is done online to accommodate your surgery schedule.
There are only 6 days of down time for hands-on training to acquire necessary surgical skills
We can bring the 6-day lab right to your hospital for unbelievable convenience. Save tremendously on travel expenses.
They get clinical experience at your hospital and, supervised by your surgeons for optimal convenience and results
They become eligible to sit for ABSA’s exam and earn SA-C (Surgical Assistant – Certified)

The ACE 6-day lab is a big confidence builder for your staff. Their new surgical skills will speak well of them and your wisdom in bringing this program to your facility. Read more about the ACE Surgical Assistant Program with the 6-day lab included.

ace graduates are eligible to sit for the sa-c national certifying exam