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Live CE (Previously Advanced CE)

In 2019, the National Board for Surgical Technology and Surgical Assisting (NBSTSA) announced that the certification cycle for the Certified Surgical Technologist (CST)® and the Certified Surgical First Assistant (CSFA)® was changed from four to two years, effective January 1, 2020.

For those in the new two-year cycle, CSTs are required to earn a total of 30 CE credits including 4 CE credits earned in Live CE settings and CSFAs are required to earn 38 CE credits including 8 earned in Live CE settings. For details, visit: https://www.nbstsa.org/renewals-recertification

Live CE is — "All CE sessions presented at AST-approved conferences, workshops, AST State Assembly meetings, employer in-services, grand rounds, physician professional meetings including live or on-demand CE webinars or videos and live CE by manufacturers.”

Examples of live CE that will be accepted and processed for recertification include:

  • Live CE processed for recertification earned at those conferences, workshops, state assembly meetings, employer in-services, grand rounds, and physician professions must be approved by AST or otherwise comply with the AST Continuing Education Policies for the CST and CSFA.
  • AST will approve Live CE for manufacturers but not on-demand CE webinars or videos.
  • For documentation requirements when submitting Live CE credits, visit: https://www.ast.org/Members/AST_CE_Policies/.

How and where can I earn Live CE?

AST State Assembly Meetings

AST Continuing Education Resource Center https://www.ast.org/ceonline/catalog.aspx for these Live CE Videos:

  • CV-1 Pediatric Cardiac Transplantation
  • CV-2 Off-Pump Coronary Bypass Surgery
  • CV-4 Surgical Treatment of Cardiomyopathy
  • CV-5 Aortic Endografts
  • CV-8 Management of Ruptured Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm
  • GE-2 Cosmetic Surgery
  • GE-23 Evolution of Lymphadenectomy
  • GE-24 Breast Cancer and Sentinel Lymph Node Biopsy
  • GE-25 Emergent Trauma Surgery: The Crash Laparotomy and Thoracotomy
  • GE-26 Organ Donation and the Operating Room
  • GE-27 Breast Reconstruction
  • GE-28 CCATT: The Beginning/Continuation of the Critical Patient
  • GE-29 Pediatric Surgery Pearls: What to Expect When Treating Children in the OR
  • GE-4 Laparoscopic Bowel Surgery
  • GE-5 Facial Aesthetic Surgery
  • GE-6 Early Breast Cancer Detection
  • MISC-1 The Gamble for Certification Legislation
  • NS-1 Cortical Screws: A Gateway Technique to Minimally Invasive TLIF
  • NS-2 Spine Surgery in the US: Macro & Microeconomic Forces at Work
  • NS-3 Microneurosurgery and Neuroendoscopy
  • NS-4 Robotics in Spine Surgery – Past, Present and Future