Coastal Pines Technical College (CPTC) recently hired a new program director for the Surgical Technology Program. Penny DiLorenzo has joined the staff on the Waycross campus and will begin teaching a new cohort of Surgical Technology students in January.
Penny is coming back to her CPTC roots to teach the program. She graduated from CPTC in 2017 with an Associate of Applied Science degree in Surgical Technology and shortly after tested to become a nationally certified Surgical Technologist through NBSTSA. Penny furthered her education in 2020 at the Meridian Institute of Surgical Assisting in Tennessee to become a nationally certified Surgical First Assistant through NBSTSA. She will graduate from Valdosta State University this fall with her Bachelor of Applied Science degree in Organizational Leadership.
Penny was employed by the local hospital in surgical services as a CST immediately upon graduation from CPTC in 2017. In 2018 she began working for a local private practice surgeon, both in clinic and the operating room, and was employed there for the last several years before taking the Surgical Technology Program Director position here at CPTC. She chose to teach here because she believes in the program and what it provides to the local and surrounding communities.
When asked about the field of surgical technology, Penny said, “Surgical Technologist are the unsung heroes of the operating room. There is a lot of responsibility and procedural knowledge in the surgical technologist role. Anyone thinking of entering the surgical technologist field should know they will be a part of an elite group of professionals in the operating room. I would like to implore anyone looking to enter the healthcare filed to check out the surgical technology program here at CPTC Waycross.”
The surgical technology program is currently accepting applications for the upcoming semester that begins in January on the Waycross campus. Students can apply online at www.coastalpines.edu. The program will be hosting an open house event on November 10, 2022, from 5-7pm where the public is welcome to attend to learn more about the program.