Introduction
The surgical technology profession arose from an urgent need for help in the surgeries performed to the soldiers during the World War I, World War II, the Vietnam War, and the Korean War. There was a great need for the trained medical staffs in the course of these wars. In particular, a large number of doctors as well as nurses were essentially needed during these wars to take care of the needs of the soldiers wounded in the battlegrounds. The extreme casualties as a result of the wars placed the nurses in great demand. It is crucial to mention that nurses performed the roles of the surgical technologists during the wars.
Apart from the shortage of nurses, there was a shortage of other health care specialists to satisfy the rising medical needs of the soldiers. The female nurses were prohibited from the warships as well as battlegrounds and, as a consequence, this further increased the shortage of health care professionals taking care of the war veterans. Price, Frey, & Junge (2004) maintain that the military used non-nursing and non-physician assistants in numerous roles, partly since women were barred from the battleground. The corpsmen and medics, who were the new military professionals started serving the role of the nurses in the operating rooms. The nurses were only confined to the medical stations. It is critical to note that during the Korean War, the physicians started using the medical techs as their aides due to the shortage of nurses.
The corpsmen and medics were later known as the operating room technicians since they helped in the surgeries. Ideally, this saw the creation of the role of the operating room technicians. These technicians replaced the female nurses in the battlegrounds (Wolfe, 2010). They were provided with the medical training, which stressed on the operating room technology. As a matter of fact, their training comprised instrumentation, suturing, instrument sterilization, and suitable care for the patients in the operating rooms. After some time, the name operating room technicians changed to surgical technologists. It is imperative to note that the surgical technologists replaced the nurses as the assistants of the physicians in the operation rooms. The profession of surgical technology, thus, started during the war periods as a result of the shortage of health care specialists to meet the war veterans’ increasing medical demands.
It was in the late 1960s when the official hospital-based programs for the surgical technologists were developed (Wolfe, 2010). In particular, in the late 1960s, a rising number of institutions began generating as well as developing surgical technology programs. The 1960s saw the establishment of the first professional organization for the surgical technologists, that is, the Association of Operating Room Technicians. Specifically, this association was formed in 1968. The Association of Operating Room Technicians was changed to the Association of Surgical Technologists (AST) five years down the line (Wolfe, 2010).
AST has since its formation made sure that the surgical technologists possess the necessary skills and knowledge. Without a doubt, this association has significantly facilitated excellence in the profession of surgical technology. It has always ensured that the surgical technologists offer high-quality patient care. In fact, the year 1974 saw the formation of an accreditation body to make sure that the surgical technologists get the quality education. The surgical technology profession has developed over the years in reaction to the endless high demand for highly skilled and educated health care professionals.
References
Price, P., Frey, K. B., & Junge, T. L. (2004). Surgical technology for the surgical technologist: A positive care approach. Taylor & Francis.
Wolfe, K. (2010, July 6). The History of Surgical Technology. Retrieved from http://ezinearticles.com/?The-History-of-Surgical-Technology&id=4614714
