When Dionna Marker, Depew, started her first class in the Offset Printing program at Central Tech, over a decade ago, she never dreamed that someday she would be standing in an operating room assisting a cosmetic surgeon give people a new outlook on life. Dionna's journey in life has taken her on an unusual path straight to the world now made famous by the extreme makeover television programs.

Today, Marker is a Nationally Certified Surgical Technician, employed as a Scrub Surgical Technologist for Dr. Angelo Cuzalina at the Tulsa Surgical Arts ( TSA ) center in Tulsa . Marker completed the Surgical Technology Program at Central Technology Center , Drumright, in June, 2003. Her career in the world of cosmetic surgery began almost immediately with Dr. Cuzalina.

The Surgical Technician is a specialist in sterilization, according to instructor Todd Prough. "These are the people who sterilize all of the instruments used in an operating suite, prepare the suite appropriately for the surgery that is to take place, seeing that a sterile field is created and maintained for the patient's safety, and then clean the area when the procedure is completed."

The Surgical Technology Program at Central Tech received national certification on January 31 st from the Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs. The accreditation standards are established by CAAHP and the American College of Surgeons and Association of Surgical Technologists. To date, four graduates of the Central Tech program have taken the national certification exam sponsored by the Liaison Council on Certification for the Surgical Technologist and all have passed the text and received their national certification.

In addition to their clinical experience in hospitals and clinics that include Stillwater Medical Center , Tulsa Regional Medical Center , hospitals in Cushing and Stroud, and SouthCrest in Tulsa , the students can receive 33 hours of college credit at Tulsa Community College toward an Associate of Applied Science degree, without any additional cost to the student.

As a certified Surgical Scrub Technician, Marker says she finds every day exciting at Tulsa Surgical Arts where the physicians specialize in face lifts, tummy tucks, liposuction, body augmentations and specialized dental and facial reconstruction.

Prough says Marker also assists him and Dr. Cuzalina as a preceptor at TSA , where students in the Central Tech program are permitted to get clinical practice. "She knows exactly where they are in their education, where they need to be to function in the operating room, and how to assist everyone involved in working more efficiently as a team while the students are learning on the job," said Prough.

Career Tech training is becoming a tradition in Marker's family. Marker's nearly 13 year career as a printer at a Bristow quick-print shop began as a result of her training at Central Technology Center . Her second career in the healthcare field also began on the campus of Central Tech, and now one of her teenage sons will soon begin classes in the Welding Fabrication program at the same campus.

The Depew mother and "Surg Tech" is quick to encourage others who need employment or want a change in careers to "keep an open mind" and consider the career counseling and education available in the Career Tech system. "You can go into a lot of different fields after you master the basic skills you will learn at school. I may eventually try being a technician aboard one of those life-saving helicopters. The opportunities are endless," says Marker.