Oklahoma City Community College (OCCC) is now accepting applications for the college’s new anesthesia technology program. OCCC will host two open house sessions for students and prospective employers Wednesday, April 10, at its main campus. The student session will occur from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. and the employer session will occur from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. in the OCCC Health Professions Center.

OCCC offers Oklahoma’s first and only associate in applied science degree in anesthesia technology. These open house sessions will give participants the opportunity to learn more about the degree program and will include a hands-on demonstration of anesthesia technology equipment used for training in the program as well as in the field when graduates join the workforce. Both sessions will also host a simulation scenario with OCCC’s state-of-the-art human patient simulator. Faculty will be available to answer questions during both events.

There is a growing need for anesthesia technologists in the United States. According to the American Society of Anesthesia Technicians and Technologists (ASATT) in 2017, depending on the job setting, the projected starting salary for a Certified Anesthesia Technologist is $36,000 to $55,000 annually. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) predicts that employment of all health care technologists will increase by almost 20 percent through 2020. Salaries and benefits will vary based on geographic location, employer, training level and years of experience.

Graduates of the anesthesia technology program will be ready to take on jobs in a variety of clinical settings including hospital operating rooms, interventional and diagnostic radiology, labor and delivery units, intensive care units, emergency rooms, outpatient procedure suites and ambulatory surgery centers. Upon completion of this two-year associate degree program in anesthesia technology, graduates are qualified to sit for the National Certification Examination (NCE) for the Anesthesia Technologist.

Students must apply and be accepted as an OCCC student in order to apply for the anesthesia technology program. Applicants are accepted for summer semester entry only. Special application requirements and procedures must be followed. Students are selected for acceptance into the program based on a preferential point system.

For more information on how to get started, contact the OCCC Division of Health Professions at 405-682-7507 or email Nancy Sweet-Fitzgibbon, program director, at nsweet-fitzgibbon@occc.edu. For information about the open house event, visit www.occc.edu/open-house/.