Melissa M. was in the middle of a surgical technology (ST) program at a south Florida college several years ago when the school she was attending suddenly shut down. Frantic, Melissa began searching for an alternative program to complete her ST training and came across Concorde Career Institute, Miramar.
“Concorde had such good reviews,” Melissa said. “After I interviewed with them, I was reassured that my experience at Concorde would be very different from my time at my previous institution.”
Studying at Concorde
Melissa grew up loving science and had a particular interest in anatomy. Because of Melissa’s passion for the field, a friend who was completing an ST program at the time and was convinced ST would be the perfect fit for Melissa.
“I had never even heard of ST before,” Melissa said. “The minute I learned more about it; I knew my friend was right. This was something that was perfect for me.”
Melissa’s love for the field grew even more after she started at Concorde in 2015, but she initially had a difficult time adjusting to the workload.
“I consider myself a good student, but I was really overwhelmed with the amount of work in such a short timeframe,” Melissa said.
With determination and the assistance of Concorde faculty, Melissa persevered. Melissa remembers Concorde staff checking up on her regularly and her program director always being available to help explain difficult concepts.
“I really consider myself lucky to have been trained by a group of such supportive and experienced teachers,” she said. “I felt so prepared when it was time for my externship and even after my time at Concorde.”
Practicing Surgical Technology
After graduating in 2016, Melissa was hired as a surgical technologist at Miami Children’s Hospital. After about six months, she decided to move to another hospital to pursue more opportunities in the operating room.
Melissa now works at Memorial Regional Hospital in South Florida. She recently celebrated her four-year work anniversary and was the youngest technician in her hospital’s history to be promoted to lead surgical technologist.
Melissa hasn’t always been tasked with strictly ST responsibilities, however. In early spring of 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic altered her usual role.
“At the start of the pandemic, everything was shut down,” Melissa said. “Our hospital mainly offers outpatient care so many of us had to go to different departments.”
Melissa and her coworkers were responsible for a variety of tasks, including receiving patients in the ER. Though it was different than working in the OR, it gave Melissa the opportunity to expand her network and understand more about other departments within the hospital.
“As scary as it was, I’m thankful that I was still able to learn so much,” she said. “And, I’m appreciative that whether I’m in the OR or in a different department, I’m still helping people.”
Melissa’s favorite part about her job is that every day is different. Even if she is working on the same type of procedure back-to-back, every surgery varies based on the needs of the patient.
“It’s very rewarding to be able to make such a difference in surgery and in people’s lives,” Melissa said. “Concorde and its team taught me everything I needed to be prepared for my career and I wouldn’t have gotten here without them.”
