Intralign develops surgical first assistants curriculum with HSS

This article appears in the online journal Orthopedics Today.
Mar 28, 2014
Intralign announced a partnership with Hospital for Special Surgery to develop a training curriculum for surgical first assistants, a clinical specialty comprised of surgeons, medical doctors, physician’s assistants and registered nurse first assists.
Operating as IntralignAcademy, the educational program will teach the latest technologies and methodologies in orthopedic care, as well as best practices for increasing operational efficiency in the surgical suite. According to a press release, leaders from Hospital for Special Surgery will provide insight and support to enhance Intralign’s existing academy programs. IntralignAcademy is the nation’s first professional academy to train surgical first assistants (SFAs) in both operational and clinical excellence with an emphasis on credentialing, clinical training, operating room (OR) management and continuing education. As part of the current program, IntralignAcademy offers clinical training in a variety of surgical specialties in addition to orthopedics, including surgical robotics. Professionals enrolled in IntralignAcademy are educated on OR behavior, communication and optimal methods for creating OR efficiencies, in addition to clinical best practices, which equip them with the broadest perspectives to assist any surgeon in any environment.
“Surgical first assistants help surgeons focus on the highest-value care activities, which can ultimately increase surgical throughout. Despite their pivotal role in the OR, there are few continuing education opportunities for SFAs today in which the curriculum goes beyond clinical techniques to also train on best operational practices to address the changing realities of healthcare,” Rick Ferreira, president and chief executive officer of Intralign, stated in the release. “By leveraging real-world insights from the most sought-after experts in orthopedic care, we can enrich Intralign’s educational offering and provide the strongest possible competencies for SFAs in orthopedic and total joint replacement training. These skills will further enhance Intralign SFAs’ ability to deliver high-quality, consistent and professional assistance that allows a surgeons to do more with fewer resources.”