HISTORY

The Association of Surgical Technologist (AST) dissolved the regions following the annual National conference in 1999 when the bylaws were amended.  Members in the State of Oregon belonged to Region 8, which included California, Washington, Oregon and a few other western states.  Shortly after that, AST began to organize the State Assembly Task Force Committee.  Oregon was the 14th State Assembly formed.

The Oregon State Assembly (ORSA) was formed on October 7, 2000 and incorporated in June 2001.  The ORSA Board members saw the future of the profession of Surgical Technology as a growing technical field, which would require appropriate training for the job at hand. We worked on the language of the bill with the AST Government and Public Affairs and the Oregon State Legislature.  The first bill was introduced in 2003.  Since the Oregon State Legislature is known as the Oregon State Assembly, we were faced with confusion when we would talk with the legislators regarding what we wanted to accomplish with our bill.  So the ORSA officially changed our name to Oregon Association of Surgical Technologist (OAST) in 2008.  Over the course of 15 years, we worked together to see the bills passage for mandatory certification with the State Legislature.  The bill requiring the CST credential passed in 2015 and was signed into law by Governor Brown.  Implementation of the bill was in 2016.  This bill established minimum qualifications for individuals employed as Surgical Technologists in a healthcare facility in the State of Oregon.

Participating in your local State assembly is a great way to get involved in the Surgical Technology field and network with fellow professionals.  OAST board members are all volunteers and serve a two-year term.  If you are interested in being on the Board of Directors, volunteering at conferences, or just have a question about what the board does, please contact us at [email protected].