KimGau

I dont have any helpful advice, but as someone who was going into nursing and is now going into surg tech, I want to thank you for sharing your stories because it helps me constantly remind myself of what to never do when I get into the field. I really hope your situation gets better, because that girl sounds like she has some serious issues.

Donald- In my area Pa is a masters level program at all schools and they are already discussing making it a PHD program at some schools. I want to become a CFA for personal reasons out of personal interests. Thanks for the advice. Mercys- You really hit the nail on the head with why I want to go to CFA school before PA school. My first love is surgery and my second love is being able to have patient interactions (rounds etc..) I feel like by coming out of PA school already cst/cfa certified that will give me a huge advantage because as you had mentioned I would not need all of that extra training.

AWW, I'm Sorry I have that chart and I never even registered New York being on there because Im not from there. I live on Louisiana where there is no law against it, but Im thinking about moving to Texas (My husband could get a better job there as well) I like Texas because they seem to be pro-FA. You could always go th ePA route you would still be an fa (and then some). You could still do CST for the Or experience just make sure to do an AS program so you can do a bridge to BS. Then PA school. GOOD LUCK!

Legal studies isn't a dumb major. My husband is 29, he got his bachelors in business after high school and then did half of the coursework for his masters. We agreed after I had my bachelors he would start on finishing his masters THEN he deceides he wants to go to law school, lol. I def. did not finish NS lol I didnt even start. I knew I wanted to go into surgery but when I saw how much higher the starting pay was for an RN I changed my mind and enrolled in Nursing School. Well two days before class scheduling they dropped their ASN program and adopted a new 5 year $50,000+ BSN program and thats when I realized I wasnt putting myself into that much debt for a career that I did not want, so I went ahead and transfered my paperwork to the ST program. I dont like the nursing side of it, thats why I chose the PA route Vs. the NP route. I dont ever want to work in a Dr's office as a PA, My passion is in surgery I want to work as a first assistant, but I thought it would be cool to get my MPA just so I could be licensed to round on patients pre- and post-op.

Ok the average salary for a CFA in NYC is going to be 24% higher than other parts of the country. The salary could change by the time you get out of school, but right now it is averaging $70,000 and going up to $110,000. You will have been working as a CST while in CFA school so that OR experience will be beneficial to getting a higher salary. That is great that you dont have to worry about gen-ed classes, I wish I could skip them. I have not gotten far enough into ST school to really give an accurate account of difficulty and it really depends on your school. At my school Nursing and ST are the same amount of time, the same amount of clinicals etc.. so They are pretty equal when it comes to difficulty. I dont know how similar the NCLEX and CST Exams are, but Im sure you can look up practice test for both online. If I had to say from experience I would think the CST exam would have more definitive answers, because you have to retain SO much exact Information. ST school is a LOT of Anatomy. You will have to learn every step for tons of surgeries so that you will know what instruments and supplies to prepare and when the surgeon will need them. My passion is surgery and the OR so it is all very exciting to me. MY best advice to you is to go to the Meridian Institute after CST school. Good Luck! Oh If you dont mind me asking what is your BS in? Im going to be working on a BS in Health Sciences with an emphasis on Biology

Ok I am currently in CST school getting my associates degree, then going into a first assistant program while getting my BS, then on to PA school. So Ive done a LOT of research so I'll help you out. I chose to go the route I did after enrolling in Nursing school but before I even started I realized nursing was not for me. First of all you cannot just become a first assistant. You have to either become and RN or a Surgical Technologist first. Which one is completly a preference on which field you want to end up in down the road. If you take the ST road, you will first go to a school to become a CST, then you need to find a job as a CST to gain a few months of understanding of the actual OR. Then you can start CFA school. I 150% recomend the Meridian Institue for Surgical Assisting (It is considered to be by far the BEST) You apply to the CFA school while you are working as a CST and continue to work as a CST until you receive your CFA accredidation (6-12 months). The CFA school is 3 parts: Part one: Online lessons- 13 computer lessons with a final test at the end of each one. You can do these at your own pace, and you must make a 80% on each one. Part Two: (The most AWESOME part) you go to Vanderbilt medical school for a 6 day (60 Hr) lab where you perform whole surgeries on live pigs Part Three: You complete 135 cases (and have a surgeon sign off on them) AND...You are a certifed First Assistant Later you can become complete a bachelores degree program and go to PA school but you dont need to, its only if you wanted to do that for personal reasons or to make more money. There are both certificate and degree programs out there for CST but they both (if they are accredited) while give you the chance to sit for the certification exam- I recomend the Associates Degree programs simply because it opens up more doors to expand your education later on. You can also become a First Assistant through the nursing route if you feel like nursing is the career you really want to be in because becoming an RN does not in anyway guarantee you will end up working in the OR, but if you choose the RN route: you become an RN then go to an accredited RNFA school (I dont know a lot about these) and then if you complete your bachelors you can go on to become an NP (if you wanted to do that) The Rn route to FA will definatly take longer The salary for a CST or CFA Varies greatly but if you tell me your state I have current charts for both from the Asspciation of Surgical Technologist and First Assistants for 2010 I hope this was helpful, Sorry for the typos it is 1 Am here and I am very tired :)

Thank you David, your advice was great. I finally really feel like I am doing the right thing for my personal interests. I want to go to CFA school more out pf personal interests than professional reasons. I will probably work on it will Im finishing my bachelors in Health Sciences. Feel free to share any likes/dislikes or personal stories about being a PA

OMG! I cant believe you were fired for that! Thats awesome that you want to advocate for your patients. My first love is surgery (hints the CFA school plans), but I also am very interested in PA school so that I can have more patient interaction. I would love to be able to treat my patients from pre-op through surgery and then to post-op. I love the patient diagnosis, education, and medication supply parts of nursing but not the rest of it. I dont want to sound like a bad person but the actual job of nursing does not appeal to me at all (the toileting, cleaning, running back and forth for "straws" and "blankets") I just dont think I would be happy in that aspect at all. Everyone keeps saying NP's are in higher Demand than PA's but I think its a preference thing. I think out of all my plans I am most excited for the CFA school at Vanderbilt- 7 days of operating on live pigs (HUGE pigs oddly with TONS of nipples LOL) How long did you work a ST? Good Luck in NS! And I REALLY hope that you make your way back into the OR :)

Ok my first comment is that at my school, missing one clinical without any kind of dr's excuse is grounds for dismissal. I really try not to give anyone a hard time on here, but Im having a hard time understand how someone was SO sick (mentally) that they could not even try to attend clinicals (yet they don't have any kind of excuse) If you have mental illness then that WILL affect your patient care, if you are not being responsible and treating an illness you know you have. I think it is very much the schools business what your medical state is (both physical and mental) I really truly felt sorry for you getting kicked out after working so hard, UNTIL you played the race card. If you would have just admitted that you missed clinicals without an excuse instead of saying "Like its utterly unbelievable that a black person could actually suffer from a mental illness, is that so unbelievable?" It has nothing to do with you being black, you claimed to have a mental illness but had no documentation, doctors or therapist excuse, or even a prescription..that is why its hard to believe. I live in Louisiana and I will not deny racism does exist, but I really get so sick of hearing people (in my area) constantly blame race. I admit racism happens but if you do something that you know is wrong or illegal PLEASE stop screaming its a race thing. I am white and had I skipped clinicals without a drs excuse, disclosed a medical condition that I had no documentation of AND wasnt being treated for said clinicals I would be out on my butt. The president, first lady, and attorney general are all AA. Barack and Obama both are ivy league educated, so I do believe you had an oppurtunity to get your education, had you followed the rules and been accountable.

AWW Lbanks I am sorry to hear about the job situation. I am very worried about this same scenario, that is why I am trying to get as many credentials and certifications as possible, in the hopes that it will increase my odds of finding employment. I know in my area nurses dont scrub because its just cost effective to have a scurb tech do it for half the pay. I know my passion is in the OR, but Im considering PA school eventually because I think it would be neat to be able to both work with the surgeon and round on the patients (but thats a decision for waay later:) Good luck in NS and good luck getting back into the OR. I dont know if your interested in becoming a CFA but I found an AMAZING program, The Meridian Institute of Surgical First Assisting. It's 3 parts, first 13 online classes (very quick), then you go to Vanderbilt for a week and perform whole surgeries on live pigs, then you precept with a surgeon. I would def. check into hiring practices in your area before NS. If you dont want to be a nurse, it may be very hard to get back into the OR, In my area OR nursing jobs are scarce and they require two years experience (and you do not scrub) GOOD LUCK!

Mercys- Thanks for the heads up, I had no clue if the LPN was worth it or not. Skyblue- You are completly right about making one decision at a time, Im a compulsive planner (it came with being a mother :) I feel the need to plan out exactly whats going to happen down to the month for the next 10 years lol. Ive already told my husband when we can have another child (Summer 2015 :) Thanks for the advice everyone!

I definatly realize $50,000 dollars is a lot of money that is one of the reasons I declined to continue in that new program. It will only cost me $8,000 (after grants) to get my associates degree in surgical technology. When my husband and I first discussed the program change we both agreed that it wasnt responsible to spend 5 years and put our family in such a hefty debt for a profession that may or may not have availabilities when I graduate. It would take me a decade just to pay back my loans if I stayed with the new BSN program. I live in a very rural area in Louisiana so thankfully their are a lot of job openings in the health field. The pay is quite a bit lower than the rest of the country however. I am becoming a Surgical First Assistant more for myself than for my career. I understand that hospitals in my area do not pay much more for FA than they do for ST, but Its my passion so its worth the time.Thanks for the advice. Oh and by the way I havent spoken to any recruiters, I haven't ever even heard of a recruiter in my area (thats probably why their are so many job openings lol)

Thanks Mercy I really respect your many years of experience. Argo thanks for replying so many times, I really truly appreciate the advice. I just feel so excited when I think about surgery, and when I was thinking about nursing I always felt unsure and stressed. I think my school cancelling the program may be a blessing in disguise. I have been researching non-stop for the past 3 days and I am amazed at the amazing things Im reading about the Meridian Institute at vanderbilt. I agree with Mercy, I may not make nearly the same amount of money as a st/cfa as I would as an OR nurse, but thats where my passion is at. I think money cannont make you happy if your in a job you dont love. MERCYS- Do you think it would be beneficial to get my LPN as well as Surgical Tech? Would that give me an advantage? Could I then scrub or circulate? Just trying to learn as much as I can. Thanks you so much your opinions and knowledge as such an experienced member of an allied health profession are invaluable!

I think I have made up my mind, I am going to get my associates degree in surgical technology and then go to the Meridian Institute at Vanderbilt for their First Assistant program. If I find the time after that its on to PA school. Thanks all for the advice, but I just dont think I feel the excitement for nursing the way I do for surgery.

I completly understand that, and I am truly terrified of making the wrong decision. The reason I am swaying towards ST is because in all honesty I dont think I have a passion for actual nursing. I have worried all summer about getting through nursing clinicals because I am interested in very few parts of nursing; mainly RNFA, assesements/diagnosis/ and medication administration. In doing my research today I discovered that my school offers a bridge from AS to BS (in biology). So I am considering doing ST-FA-BS-PA. I so wish I had more than 5 days to figure this out. Does anyone know anything about PA's in the OR? When I googled First Assistant I found a few threads discussing the importance for PA's in the OR, but until today I had not heard of it. THANKS :)