Acronym - Answers A word formed by the initial letters of the principal components of a compound
term
Ambulatory Surgical Center - Answers Facility where patients are treated and released the same day;
also known as outpatient surgery or same-day surgery center
ARC/STSA - Answers Accreditation Review Council on Education in Surgical Technology and Surgical
Assisting; A committee on accreditation that is under the large umbrella of CAAHEP, which oversees the
accreditation processes of Surgical Technology programs
AST - Answers Association of Surgical Technologists- non-profit national professional membership
organization for surgical technologists and surgical assistants
Circulator - Answers nonsterile surgical team member who moves about the periphery of the sterile field
Competency - Answers 1) Skill 2) ability 3) statements that establish the level of skill or quality needed to
be able to perform the gob duties of a profession
Core Curriculum for Surgical Technology - Answers The recommended appropriate curriculum template
for an educational program that provides the expected entry-level knowledge for the surgical
technologist
DO - Answers Doctor of Osteopathy- A physician who treats patients in a holistic manner and
emphasizes the use of manipulative techniques for correcting abnormalities thought to cause disease
and inhibit reovery
Elective Surgery - Answers pertaining to a surgical intervention that does not require immediate
intervention; the patient "elects" to have the surgery at a specific time
Emergent Surgery - Answers Surgical pathology that is life threatening
HMO - Answers Health Maintenance Organization- health care organization that serves as both the
insurer and the provider of medical services; typically, a group of physicians provides services to a
population of clients enrolled in the program
Intraoperative - Answers Occurs during the surgical intervention
The Joint Commission - Answers An independent, non-profit national organization that develops
standards and performance criteria for health care organizations
NBSTSA - Answers National Board of Surgical Technology and Surgical Assisting- Organization that is
solely responsible for all decisions regarding certification, from determining eligibility to maintaining,
denying, granting, and renewing the designation