Edgar Johnson

I would like to first and foremost introduce myself, In the world of medicine, I have been privileged to work as a surgical technologist for nineteen years consecutively, while also gaining traditional certification and credentialing for the past 6 years as well. I would like to primarily thank the gracious efforts of the surgical community at Providence Alaska Medical Center, who recognized the importance of certification, and selflessly donated the necessary funds associated with the Association of Surgical Technologist (AST) memberships needed in order to properly certify the surgical staff in Alaska. While I have worked in different types of hospitals, I fell in love with different specialties. Similarly, I also felt a tremendous amount of accomplishment, which were not unaccompanied by its diametric opponent I sometimes like to call a “challenge”. I can remember first encountering the O.R. As a newly minted surgical technologist, our hospital was so short staffed that more times than not, it fell upon the surgeons to orient the newer staff. This presented some challenges for us, which were not overcome by hard work and tenacious effort. I have held with me a piece of wisdom given to me by one of the surgeons that took the time to teach me. He once said to me words of wisdom that have led to thinking outside the box: “Pay Attention, and learn to cut suture left handed”. While cutting suture left handed has its challenges, I would describe myself as someone who makes it a point to do the best job I can regardless of how big or small the case may seem, and devote all of my attention to each case, with the goal of having everything needed for a smooth procedure, but also having a professional and positive attitude with patients, surgeons, management and coworkers. In my opinion, it’s a contribution to the overall industrial health of the system available to us in cosmopolitan, and rural communities alike.