OTC surgical technologists in lab

Ozarks Technical Community College will host an open house for its Surgical Technology Program on Monday, Feb. 11. The come-and-go event will be held from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the Surgical Technology Operating Room, located at the OTC Springfield Campus in Lincoln Hall, room 301.

The open house will give prospective students and their families an inside look at the college’s Surgical Technology Program. OTC’s Allied Health Department will host tours of the laboratory as well as Q&As with surgical technology instructors.

OTC’s Surgical Technology Program trains its graduates to work in operating rooms, physician practices, dentist offices or on transplant teams. Surgical Technologists prepare operating rooms for surgery, sterilize and supply equipment, and assist surgeons and nurses during surgery by passing instruments and other sterile supplies.

“We are seeing a growing demand for Surgical Technologists both locally and nationwide,” said OTC Dean of Allied Health Sherry Taylor. “In fact, the Missouri Economic Research & Information Center projects 41 annual openings in our region through the year 2026, and 794 annual openings across the state.”

OTC graduates approximately 25 surgical technology graduates each year with nearly 100 percent of these students finding employment in the field upon graduation, primarily at CoxHealth and Mercy hospitals. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the annual median wage for a surgical technologist is $41,380.

For more information about OTC’s Surgical Technology open house, contact the college’s Allied Health Department at alliedhealth@otc.edu or 417-447-8803.