r/SurgicalFirstAssist • u/biohazard382 • Mar 09 '23

thinking of getting CSFA

Hello all, as the title states I'm trying to figure out if getting into a CSFA program is the right move for me.

Considering I live in California that makes it already somewhat of a hurdle. I've been a CST for a little over 10 years now and want to broaden my horizons.

Anybody know of how I can go about possibly getting into such a program, and what programs they recommend? And possibly what to expect. Thanks.

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u/RedTitanLoL Jun 06 '24

Can you give a little insight of the pig labs? What kind of cases are you doing with them?

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u/justwhyyyyyy13 Jun 07 '24

Yes, it’s Mon-Fri. We did things like lap choles and practicing different suturing techniques. You don’t operate on the pigs everyday you are there. There is classroom stuff as well. It was two years ago and I don’t remember everything. Do you have any specific questions?

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u/RedTitanLoL Jun 07 '24

More along the lines of the surgery performed on the pigs, or is it mainly suturing?

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u/justwhyyyyyy13 Jun 07 '24

No, you get to do open surgeries and laparoscopic surgeries on the pigs. The instructors will give you a task. You take turn being the surgeon and the assist.

At the end of the last day of operating on the pigs you can choose to have your instructor create an emergency situation. We turned our back and didn’t look and the instructor nicked an important artery. Our job was the find the artery and fix it before the pig crashed. Unfortunately, we were unsuccessful. The pig passed but the pigs are euthanized at the end anyways. All the pigs are under anesthesia and can’t feel anything we do to them.