I am strongly in favor of the legislation that the Virginia General Assembly passed last year allowing for the Registration of Surgical Assistants; however, I also believe that it is extremely important that the Board of Medicine impose regulations or specific requirements along with the privilege to be recognized by the state that are in the best interest of all surgical assistants and the public safety of the people in the Commonwealth.

Chapter 531 of the 2014 Acts of the Assembly, Chapter 160 sets forth regulations for registration of surgical assistants that in order to register in Virginia as a Registered Surgical Assistant; the applicant must present satisfactory evidence that he/she holds a current credential as a surgical assistant.  The credentialing bodies that the state recognizes are the National Commission for the Certification of Surgical Assistants and the National Board of Surgical Technology and Surgical Assisting. Both credentialing bodies require Continuing Education as a condition for recertification. These requirements are intended to encourage professionals to expand their foundations of knowledge and stay up-to-date on new developments affording them the opportunity to continuously improve their practice and ultimately their care of patients. These principals should carry over to the regulations imposed on Virginias Registered Surgical Assistants and mandate that maintaining the certification required for initial state registration a condition for registration renewal.

As the profession of surgical assisting lacked regulation in the past, there will be many who plan to register with the state who do not hold one of the required certificates and who may even lack formal training. Although I support a “Grandfathering Clause” for initial registration as Chapter 531 states, I strongly urge the Medical Board to require all those who are granted state registration to obtain either of the two recognized certifications prior to re-registering as a surgical assistant in Virginia.

Respectfully submitted,

David Jennette, CSA