Surgical Assistant Post-grad Certificate

[August29]

---

Members do not see this ad.

I have been looking into Easter Virginia Medical School post-grad Surgical Assistant Certificate program, but I still have much curiosity. Are there any First Assists on this forum? How hard is it to find work? One surgeon has told me that there are probably issues with billing and reimbursement for First Assists. Do you have any info on this? Does anyone know about EVMS specifically? Is there anything I should be aware of before pursuing?
Thanks for any and all response.

 

[schaubj1]

Hey, how's it going? My name is Jeffery Schaub and I am currently a first year student in the SA program at EVMS. I can try and answer some of your questions to the best of my ability. I just joined this forum so I guess I am a future first assist on this forum lol. From what I understand every student that has graduated from EVMS has found employment in a multitude of states across the country. Are director is also constantly emailing us with job opportunities from multiple hospitals around the country and I am sure he will gladly help in finding a job when that time comes. There are also surgical assistant groups that contract to hospitals that recruit new surgical assistants all the time. I know EVMS has a deal with the mayo clinic that provides a 2nd year rotation as well as the chance to work there when finished with the program. As for billing and reimbursement I would have to do more research to find out about this topic. The school it's self is a great learning atmosphere, I have been here almost 2 months and I am already in the operating room. We take classes along side medical students and physician assistant students so the classes can be quite rigorous. As for applying for the program I would go over the website http://www.evms.edu/evms-school-of-health-professions/surgical-assistant.html and just read up on how the program works etc.. If you have any more questions I would be happy to assist. My email is [email protected] if you want to directly email me.

 

[Sammy11]

I have been thinking of applying to this program as well, thanks for your advice and info! I have a couple questions too: first, how competitive is the admissions process-do you know if there were many people who applied that were not accepted? Second, if I did attend the program, I would have to do it 100% on financial aid (including living expenses) and that makes me nervous - do you know of anyone in your program who is doing this? Do you have an opinion on how wise it would be to do so, having knowledge of the job outlook/earnings potential? I would highly value the opinion of a current student (though obviously, it would be my decision to make 🙂 ) I would LOVE to have a career working in the OR and only recently learned that this could be an option for me! Thanks for your help!!

 

[August29]

Thanks for your responses. Glad to see other people have (or had) the same thoughts as myself - even though that means more competition for me lol. I'm curious to hear if you guys are already working in the healthcare field in another capacity, or is this your first entry to patient care...?

 

[Sammy11]

Hi,

I'm glad there's someone else out there looking into this program - lots of PA and medical students but I was starting to think I was alone out here, LOL! In regards to your question, I have some health care experience - I worked as a STNA for a while and I've worked in mental health for years. I haven't worked in an OR though, how about you?

 

[August29]

I've worked in the practice management side of healthcare and I've volunteered in ER and physician offices. Unfortunately no OR experience for me 🙁.

 

[schaubj1]

Sorry for the late response but let me see if I can answer some more of your questions.
Sammy11- As for the admissions process my director told me that they received 79 applications, 25 of them were reviewed, and 14 were accepted. But I think they are doubling the class size for next year to 28 students.
I am currently living off financial aid and it is totally doable, you just have to budget wisely but they give you plenty to survive off of. The job outlook looks very promising, our director is constantly sending us emails of new job opportunities every week and everyone who has graduated from this program has always found a job, either with a hospital or an independent surgical assisting group. Also with this program being considered a graduate program we are encouraged to apply for surgical PA jobs as well as the SA jobs just because of the education compared to other SA programs. We actually take the same classes as PA and Med students during there first year.

August29- I used to work at a plasma center during my undergrad but yeah once I am done with this program it will be my first job in health care and in the OR. But there are some people in my class that have never stepped in an OR before and are doing just fine in the classes and during our rounds.


If you guys have any more questions feel free to ask!

Thanks

 

[hosang11]

Hello,
I graduated from the SA progam in '09 and I was previously working in philadelphia (my hometown) when I applied to the program. I had to get private loans to fund the SA program and my living expenses. However, my previous bills and responsiblities did not go away. Therefore, I had to work while attending the program. I'm a licensed medic, so I worked in the ER at Sentara Norfolk General Hospital which is right on the campus and I was able to survive, successfully complete the program, and not be in more debt other than the private loan I took out. Hope that helps. If you have any other questions please feel free to e-mail me [email protected].

Nicole H.
SA'09

 

[AUS4]

Does anyone know the attrition rate for this program? And are you sharing surgical rotations with PA students and residents? And are you in class/OR every day(Mon-Fr) from 7A to 6P?

 

[August29]

Do you students remember how long the admissions process took? Do they accept on a rolling basis or should I expect to not even be looked at until after the deadline? Did you have to fly in for an interview? How much notice did they give to travel in? I'm just curious because I am an out of state applicant and I'd like to save my money on the correct timeline to avoid scrambling later lol

 

[August29]

I've had a foreign trained doctor say negative things about such a program because "you will invest all that time and money and end up getting paid like a tech, PAs and foreign trained docs that go back to school get the first assist jobs". Any insight on such a comment?

 

[notmyrealname123]

Hi,
I was recently accepted into the program and am currently developing a plan to pay for the tuition. How did you make out seeing that this post is old and you have graduated now? Was the program worthwhile in terms of return on investment. Any advice to a new incoming student? And if you got a job in Virginia what the range as far as starting salaries are concerned?
Thanks