Dayton News
Campus News & Events
Surgical Success
Last week the Dayton Campus celebrated National Surgical Technology Week and placed emphasis on graduates from the Surgical Technology degree program and what they were doing with their surgical careers.
Tara Combs (pictured left) was one of the first three students to graduate from the Dayton Campus Surgical Technology program more than two years ago. Her completion of the program and employment helped establish the foundation for success at the campus.
Surgical Department Chair Michelle Boniella said Tara was one of her best students. In fact, during the graduation ceremony in 2006, Tara received the Achievement Award. She is now employed at the new Cincinnati Children’s Outpatient Hospital. She started at Children’s Hospital in Cincinnati and when this new expansion was built, she was asked to join the surgical team there. It is a 23-hour outpatient facility where various children’s surgical procedures are done. She presently is a team leader and helps in training other technologists. She is also in charge of the daily surgical set-ups for all procedures during the week. One of the newest procedures that she is involved with is the cochlear implants or “big” ear surgery. She enjoys seeing the benefits of helping the children and seeing the parent’s happiness after a successful operation. She plans on continuing her education at a 4-year nursing school. Her advice to future graduates is to practice hands-on skills as much as possible. Congratulations Tara!
Merrilyn Smith (pictured on the right with Michelle Boniella) is a 2007 graduate of the Surgical Technology program. She relocated to Michigan where she is now working as a surgical technologist at Keweenaw Memorial Medical Center. During her job search, Merrilyn learned of a high demand for surgical technologists in the state of Michigan. With an interest to relocate, Merrilyn applied at various hospitals up north and she got the replies she had been waiting for. She got a number of phone calls and to her surprise was conducting interviews over the phone. At first it was a new experience and she was nervous. She made 3x5 index cards with interviewing questions and answers so she had them in front of her. She practiced talking on the phone in an interviewing style, watching her tone and diction.
Her advice for future grads: be prepared to conduct a job interview over the phone. Her methods worked and she was offered a position in Laurium, Michigan.
