National Surgical Technologists Week is September 21 to 27, 2008. Contact the President or a Board member about how to celebrate and promote the week in your place of employment or community.
Upcoming Educational Workshops:
Dallas--10 CE's--Annual Business Meeting and Elections--October 4 & 5, 2008--Don't forget to bring can food items for the East Gate Baptist Church Food Pantry! Get a free raffle ticket for a special raffle for bringing can food items.
Click on the Education button on the left for more details.
Attention Texas Members!
Call for Candidates 2008
The Annual Business Meeting and Elections will take place on October 4 & 5, 2008 in Dallas, Texas. Will elect one (1) Secretary and three (3) Directors at this meeting. Now is your opportunity to get involved with your state assembly! Attend the Business Meeting and participate in the elections either as a candidate or a voting member.
Saturday, October 4 the Board election will take place.
Sunday, October 5 the delegate election will take place electing five (5) delegates to the AST National Conference in Las Vegas, NV during May 2009.
Please contact the President for a Consent to Serve and you can be placed on the ballot. Candidates can run from the floor at the Business Meeting if credentials are verified before the start of the meeting.
Credentialing of candidates and voting members will take place between 7:00 am and 9:00 am each morning and credentials must be verified during this time to be eligible to run from the floor for a Board or Delegate position.
Candidates for the Board Elections
Secretray:
Jessie Schmidt, CST
Directors:
Ka'Tasha Jackson, CST
Tone' Mahon, CST
Candidates for Delegate to 2009 AST Conference
Don Braziel, CST
Jinnie Cook, CST/CFA
Patty Sooter, CST
Candidates can run for the Board or a Delegate position from the floor if they submit their CV and Consent to Serve by 9 am the day of the election.
The Texas State Assembly received one of the seven Leadership Awards at the AST National Conference in Orlando, Florida. This award recognizes the excellent service the Texas State Assembly has provided to the membership and the state of Texas.
The Texas State Assembly of AST, Inc. is the professional organization representing Texas Surgical Technologists. The state assembly operates as tax-exempt non-profit corporation within Texas.
The Texas State Assembly is chartered by the Association of Surgical Technologists (AST). If you are a member of AST and live in Texas, you are also a member of the Texas State Assembly. Membership dues are paid when you join AST.
Our state assembly is committed to providing continuing education and increasing public awareness about the profession. Continuing education is the primary goal of our state assembly and surgical technologists have the opportunity to obtain over 75 CE credits annually within Texas. Click on the Education button, find a workshop near you and bring a co-worker or a nurse to a Texas State Assembly Workshop. All Texas State Assembly continuing education credits can be used for Type II nursing CEU's.
Board of Directors and Officers contact information is contained under the BOD button. The Officers and BOD's can provide members with information about any current legislative efforts and if you want to be more involved in your state assembly, please contact any state assembly board member. The board is also available for additional assistance related to state assembly business.
Officer and Board of Director positions are non-paid and strictly voluntary. These members serve two-year terms and any active member with currency living in Texas is eligible to seek these elected positions.
The Texas State Assembly is also selling T-Shirts, mugs, badge holders, sunglass holders, and pens with our logo to raise additional funds for conducting state assembly business. Currently the merchandise is available at all Texas State Assembly Workshops.
The Goverment page has the latest news about legislation that impacts Surgical Technologists.
The Links button on the left contains websites that Surgical Technologists may need. The links provide information about the profession, certification, and CAAHEP accredited programs in education for Surgical Technology. The lobbyist that AST has employed in the past, Robert Kamm, has a link to his website listed also.
AST members that are Certified First Assistants (CFA) can join the Association of Surgical Assistants (ASA) free of charge. The website for ASA is http://www.surgicalassistant.org/ and can be accessed under the links button also. This organization has many benefits for surgical first assistants, CFA's, and Licensed Surgical Assistants (LSA) as it was formed by AST. Visit this website for information on how to join and receive updates and newsletters about issues affecting the surgical assisting profession.
Billing Advisory for Surgical First Assistants:
Before entering into a contract with an independent billing company the individual considering any company should take the following steps before signing a legally binding contract:
1. Research the company thoroughly with the Better Business Bureau (BBB) and Texas Secretary of State.
2. Ask the company for at least ten (10) references from clients that are under contract with the company. You should be able to contact anyone that is currently under contract with the company and past clients as well.
3. Research the company in their county of business. Most counties have a website with a search feature and public records can be accessed.
4. Contact other first assistants that use billing companies and ask which company they use and ask how satisfied they are and what kind of fees they are paying.
5. Educate yourself about the billing process and determine if you really need a billing company. Many surgical first assistants perform their own billing with little or no difficulty. Joing ASA and utilizing the ASA website will help with networking to learn more about the billing process and billing companies through the discussion board.
6. Before signing any contract with any billing company or individual have your attorney review the contract.
The Texas State Assembly of AST, Inc. does not endorse any specific billing company. We do endorse following the steps outlined above.
Disclaimer: The Texas State Assembly of AST, Inc. is solely responsible for the content contained on this website. The state assembly maintains high standards to ensure accurate information is contained on this website. Please contact the webmaster for content suggestions or for errors that may have inadvertently been posted on this website. The webmaster can be contacted at jaf2001@swbell.net
