Mission Statement
-
The Mission of the Georgia Society of Surgical Assistants, Inc is to help cultivate, support and enhance the professional careers of all Surgical Assistants in the state of Georgia by providing a solid foundation to develop skills in both education and application of the surgical assistant, in order to provide an exceptional surgical experience for our patients and the surgeon’s we serve.
What is the principle behind a Surgical Assistant?
Surgical assistants are currently not directly regulated by certification, registration or licensure by the State of Georgia. Generally speaking, Certified Surgical Assistants (CSAs) and Certified Surgical First Assistants (CSFAs) acting as first assistants are doing so under the broad delegatory authority of physicians, specific provisions for which vary slightly from state to state. The underlying principle is that physicians/surgeons may delegate to non-physicians, those tasks normally carried out by another physician when performed under the direct supervision and in the physical presence of the physician and the physician and/or employer has made a reasonable determination that the person to whom those tasks are to be delegated has the appropriate skills and knowledge to safely perform those tasks and delegation of the task is not otherwise prohibited by law, such as controlled substance administration. This principle supports the discretion of the physician in determining who will assist and to what extent, throughout the conduct of his or her case.
The Georgia Society of Surgical Assistants (GSSA) is an association of surgical assistants that represents surgical assistants in Georgia. GSSA is based in Marietta, GA, but is representative of the state as a whole.
GSSA was founded in March 2017 with the goal of connecting members of the community that actively engage in the medical profession. GSSA hopes to provide a useful and informative resource for surgical assistants in Georgia, as well as provide a unified voice for all persons involved.
GSSA also serves the needs of all Surgical Assistants regardless of path that they took to certification, and regardless of whether they belong to NSAA or ASA