LCCC Surgical Technology Program to host open house

CHEYENNE, Wyoming – The public is invited to an open house for Laramie County Community College’s Surgical Technology Program from 1-4 p.m. on Sept. 24.

The event will allow attendees to see interesting features of health care they miss while asleep during surgeries, said Tracy Perko, LCCC Surgical Technology Program director. Several sets of instruments will be set out and students will perform a mock surgery. Attendees will also be invited to use a simulator that will allow them to perform a mock surgery.

“We’d like to show people who we are and what we do,” Perko said.  

Surgical technologists play an integral role in health care by assisting in surgical operations, typically working in hospitals or outpatient surgery centers. Perko said surgical technologists are “the surgeon’s extra set of hands.”

The event coincides with National Surgical Technologists Week, which runs from Sept. 18-25. Since 1984, the third week of September has marked a celebration of surgical technologists and the critical part they play in the nation’s health care system. Perko said the week is an opportunity to provide education on surgical technologists’ role and focus on patient safety. 

“It’s a time to educate the public about what kind of initiatives we’re doing in the operating room to promote patient safety and how we’re providing a safer environment for their overall surgical experience,” she said. 

Gov. Mark Gordon will sign a proclamation recognizing National Surgical Technologists Week at 10:15 a.m. Sept. 15 in the Governor’s Ceremonial Conference Room at the Wyoming Capitol. LCCC students will meet with the governor and join him for the signing. 

LCCC’s surgical technology program allows students the opportunity to complete the program in just 11 months. The surgery core program combines classroom lectures and discussions, laboratory demonstrations with hands-on practice and supervised clinical experiences in patient care settings. Most of the program can be completed online. The program admits one class of students each fall. It is the only surgical technology program in Wyoming.

Those interested in learning more about the program can contact Tracy Perko at tperko@lccc.wy.edu or 307.778.1155.