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About the AST Government Affairs Advocacy Program
Mission
AST’s legislative mission, developed by the membership through the AST House of Delegates is “graduation from and accredited program in surgical technology and credentialing as a Certified Surgical Technologist by the National Board of Surgical Technology and Surgical Assisting as a condition of employment”
Positions
It is the position of the Association of Surgical Technologists that surgical technologists are an important part of the surgical team, and that patients are best served when all members of the team work collaboratively and in concert for positive patient outcomes. It is our position that every surgical patient deserves a surgical technologist who is a graduate of an accredited program in surgical assisting and who holds and maintains the Certified Surgical Technologist Credential administered by the National Board of Surgical Technology and Surgical Assisting (NBSTSA).
The Association of Surgical Technologists believes that the patient is best served when certified surgical technologists, physicians, nurses, and other allied health professional in the perioperative setting are performing the roles and tasks for which they are uniquely qualified.
Because the Certified Surgical Technologist is the professional in the operating room who has been specifically educated in asepsis, sterile technique, surgical procedures and intraoperative patient care, the Association of Surgical Technologists affirms that the Certified Surgical Technologist is the most appropriate professional to serve in the intraoperative scrub role. The Association of Surgical Technologists strongly supports the principle that for optimal surgical
care a Certified Surgical Technologist is necessary and should be required on each surgical case.
The Association of Surgical Technologists affirms that there are many tasks that may be appropriately delegated to noncredentialed individuals; however, these tasks do not include any role or task within the sterile field, the unsupervised positioning of patients, the handling of medications, or other specific tasks that are sufficiently dangerous as to warrant control by an appropriately credentialed individual.
Legislative/Regulatory Model and Strategy
AST has, over time, sought various types of legislative and regulatory actions to support the above mission and positions. At this time, AST advocates before state legislatures for the passage of "Entry to Practice" law that would do the following:
- Entry to practice legislation requiring that future hired surgical technologists be graduates of an accredited school of surgical technology and hold/maintain the Certified Surgical Technologist credential administered by the National Board of Surgical Technology and Surgical Assisting (NBSTSA).
- Defines the profession of surgical technology within state law, and defines the practice of surgical technology
- Specifies "grandfathering" language and other exemptions for surgical technologists practicing prior to the effective date of the new law, military trained surgical technologists, etc.
- Provide continuing education requirements and guidelines that include holding the CST credential as one proof of sufficient continuing education
This legislative model has been adopted into law in several states, and has been the result of exhaustive creative collaboration among surgical technologists and the other professional parties with an interest in the operating room including state hospital associations, nursing associations, councils of perioperative nursing, operating room nursing chapters, organizations of nurse executives, medical societies, surgical societies, and other groups.
It is a model that achieves the goal of certification as a condition of employment with no fiscal impact to the state and virtually no burden to the employing hospitals, by creating an enforcement system that is simply a part of normal hospital licensure review. We believe this model produces no substantial burden of paperwork for the hospital, ensures that no shortages are created, and most importantly helps to insure patient safety by creating a pathway to entry for the profession of surgical technology that includes the completion of clinical and didactic training as well as a certification examination to help show that the skills and knowledge necessary for entry level practice have been attained.
Sample legislation is available on this site. This is a sample only, and the final language introduced in any state would vary somewhat from this model, and would be introduced only after discussions with our AST State Assembly group in that state as well as all key stakeholders. AST State Assembly groups that are interested in the pursuit of legislation are advised to look at this sample, but more importantly to contact the AST Government Affairs Department for a more thorough explanation of the language and the process.
Click Here To View Sample Legislation
State Assemblies - How to Get Involved and Become Legislatively Active
The national organization serves several primary functions in the government affairs area:
- National elected leadership and the voting members of the House of Delegates develop the goals and mission of the organization and the profession; and
- To provide staff at headquarters to liaison with the state assemblies and other membership groups and with other allied health professions to help the member volunteers achieve their goals.
Every legislative success, which can be equated as a direct accomplishment for the profession, has been because of a small group of concerned individuals within a state assembly who are willing to work with the support of my department and the lobbyists that we hire jointly with the state assembly to work in the state, all working towards a common goal. So it is very much a matter of the national organization and the AST State Assemblies “helping you” achieve something for the profession, but in many cases “you” will have to do a lot of the work.
AST provides:
- Professional legislative planning and strategy
- Grassroots training for state assembly membership at AST State Assembly Meetings and our annual national conference
- Bill sponsor identification
- Legislative matching funds program
- Lobbyist staff management
- Professional testimony and guidance through the legislative and hearings process in the form of AST national staff on the ground at your state capitol
- Legislative alerts to your state membership during the process
- Online legislative action center and advocacy tools
- Assistance with communications with the legislature and with your legislative sponsor(s)
- Bill tracking and monitoring for every state (this keeps us informed about any new legislation that may affect the profession or your bill)
- Federal legislative monitoring and advocacy
- Representation in other legislative matters of concern to the profession.
The first step to taking advantage to all this for the state assembly is a partnership between the state assembly and the national headquarters, from the very beginning of a legislative effort. The first step to legislative success is members participating in their state assembly, and the state assembly working with AST. Together we all achieve more.
The Collaborative Process
AST advocates for the profession of surgical technology and for increased patient safety. Competency in the OR is our goal. Part of that advocacy includes actively engaging our colleague professions in the operating room in dialogue to determine areas of consensus. Open dialogue is the cornerstone of democracy and the basis of all successful legislation.
When a group approaches a legislature with a bill that has no consensus standing behind it, it may be viewed as controversial. When a group approaches a legislature and all the key players in that field can say “they’ve talked to us, and we think this legislation is a good idea,” legislators take notice, because the operating room is a foreign environment, but everyone knows it’s dangerous. Legislators don’t know exactly what needs to be done to protect the public in this area, so they look to the professionals. Surgical technologists are the professionals, and we hope to approach the legislature hand in hand with our colleagues in the operating room to seek laws that increase public safety. Lawmakers despise controversy and the define controversy as any lack of consensus.
Given our basic principles, we can successfully negotiate language for solid legislation. while standing behind our basic principles. AST carefully crafts legislative language to ensure that no surgical technologist gives up any part of their career in the name of passing legislation, and it comes with the benefit of having been tested in multiple states. AST encourages you to be involved with your state assembly, and encourages your state assembly to be involved with helping AST promote its national legislative agenda.
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