New Jersey Updates Grandfathering Rules for Surgical Technologists

New Jersey implemented an education and certification requirement for surgical technologists working in hospitals and licensed ambulatory surgery centers effective December 20, 2011. That law requires surgical technologists to either have attended an accredited education program or to be certified in surgical technology. At the time, surgical technologists who were already working as surgical technologists in a licensed health care facility were grandfathered and did not have to meet the education or certification requirement to continue working.

Since that time, New Jersey updated its licensing requirements for health care facilities to include one operating room ambulatory surgery centers. Given that many surgical technologists may have been working in previously unlicensed one OR ASCs, the state recognized that these working surgical technologists would benefit from the same grandfathering approach as in the 2011 bill. 

New Jersey Senate Bill 3334 was signed by the Governor in August 2019 and affords surgical technologists who were working in previously unlicensed ASCs the same protections as the 2011 bill provided surgical technologists working in licensed facilities at that time.