July 2010
Members of the legislation committee along with Cathy Sparkman from the AST met June 28, 2010 with Senator Dan Newberry. The goal of this meeting was to introduce Sen. Newberry to the Surgical Technologist in order to begin the legislation to form a bill that will require surgical technologist in the state of Oklahoma to be certified. Sen. Newberry requested more information about the profession and will be on a fact finding mission.
June 2010
We now have a legislation committee made up of 8 members and headed by
Pam Buff, Vice President of OKSA. We met in May to formulate an action plan, and met with Cathy Sparkman of AST during national conference for guidance. We are ready to start the ball rolling again for mandatory certification of surgical technologists in Oklahoma.
Legislation Update
We will once again pursue legislation for mandatory certification. Stay tuned for details. We will contact OKSA members when we have more info. The more members we have at the Capitol, the better.
K. Silvis CST-AAS
President, OKSA
10/4/09
Feb 2008
Oklahoma’s “Student Day at the Capital”
The state of Oklahoma isn’t known as the “cutting edge” in too many areas, however, surgical technologists in our state would like to see that change, at least in the area of quality health care. For several years now our surgical technology students have joined forces with OKSA to try to make legislation happen. We feel strongly that patient safety in the OR needs to be a priority in Oklahoma.
On Tuesday, February 19, 2008 approximately 85 students and 11 instructors from seven different surgical technology programs rallied at the State Capital to meet and greet our legislators. Everyone had fact sheets to hand out and information to give, and as is usually the case, many of our officials were surprised to learn the truth. Many of them wanted to learn more. Many of them were voicing their support of our efforts right there in the halls. It was a huge success.
Something else was a huge success also, the power a group has when they come together as one voice instead of many individual ones. We had seven programs represented from around the state: Canadian Valley Technology Center, Community Care College, Metro Tech, Moore Norman Technology Center, Oklahoma Health Academy, Platt College OKC, and Tulsa Technology Center. It was exciting to see that many schools working together towards a common cause. It was a productive day for us all!
Dana Miles, CST
OKSA President
Surgical Technology Instructor
Moore Norman Technology Center
What Happens Next
We need your help! The following areas are needed:
Legislation Chair Person: If you are interested, please contact Dana. This position would coordinate legislative efforts with a committee that supports you.
Day at the Capitol: Is there anyone that knows the capitol? We could use your help.
Newspaper Efforts: Help send letters to the local papers via e-mail and fax. The letters would already be written.
Phone & Letter: Write and call committee members for support.
More: There is plenty to do and I’m sure we could find a fit for you somewhere. Contact either Jennifer Partin nitrapj@yahoo.com (918) 605-6916 or
Dana Miles Dmiles@mntechnology.com (405) 485-8763
**PLEASE NOTE**
This is a very generic bill that factors grandfathering into the bill. Should you have ANY questions, please contact us so we can help explain the bill. WE ALL NEED TO BE ON THE SAME TEAM!!
