Preppy | A StraighterLine Company

Start Your Medical-Coding Career in as Little as 3-6 Months

Your Next Step to Becoming a Surgical Tech

BEFORE YOU GET STARTED

The Surgical Technologist program requires a clinical externship to become eligible for the TS-C certification exam. If you've already secured an externship site, you can continue directly to enrollment.

Excited surgical technologist working at his externship.

Have you already secured an externship site?

An externship site is a hospital or surgery center that has agreed to host your required clinical experience.


Trusted by 6,000+ Students

$52K+ Median Salary

14K+ Job Openings a Year

Trusted by 6,000+ Students

$62K+ Median Salary

8K+ Job Openings a Year

Smiling woman sitting at a laptop.

Start Building Your Surgical Career While You Pursue an Externship

Not having an externship today doesn't mean you have to put your career plans on hold.

With the Intro to Perioperative Technology pathway, you can begin training immediately while our Career Placement Support Team identifies potential clinical placement opportunities for your externship.

You'll learn the same foundational healthcare knowledge needed to become a surgical technologist — including professional skills, anatomy & physiology, and medical terminology — so you're making progress from day one.

Intro to Perioperative Technology

Your stepping stone to becoming a surgical technician.

What You'll Learn

Success for Healthcare Professionals
Build professional habits that help you succeed in healthcare, including communication, time management, professionalism, and career readiness.

Anatomy & Physiology
Understand how the human body functions and develop the foundational knowledge required for surgical practice.

Medical Terminology
Learn the language used throughout hospitals and operating rooms so you can communicate confidently in clinical settings.

While You Learn, We'll Help You Pursue an Externship

As you get close to finishing your first course, our Career Placement Support Team will connect with you to start working on securing your externship.

They'll help you with:

  • Identifying hospitals and surgery centers in your area

  • Strategies for reaching out to potential host sites

  • Required documentation and next steps

  • Ongoing coaching and support throughout the placement process

Because healthcare facilities make the final decision about accepting students, securing an externship is a collaborative effort between you and our team. We'll support you throughout the process, but externship placement cannot be guaranteed.

If an Externship Is Secured

You'll be enrolled into the Surgical Technologist program where you'll:

Complete your surgical technology training

Finish your required 300-hour clinical externship

Become eligible to sit for the NCCT TS-C certification exam

If an Externship Cannot Be Secured

Rather than delaying graduation indefinitely, you'll have the option to transition into our Sterile Processing Technician concentration course.

This allows you to:

Graduate without waiting for an externship

Prepare for the HSPA CRCST certification exam (Note: 400 hours of hands-on clinical experience is required to obtain full certification)

Pursue entry-level sterile processing positions

Begin building experience supporting the operating room from the sterile processing department

Many sterile processing technicians work closely with surgical teams every day, making this an excellent way to gain operating room experience and build relationships that may create future opportunities in surgical technology through an employer.

Future advancement into Surgical Technology after employment occurs through your employer and is outside the scope of the Preppy program.

Program course cards showing the Intro to Perioperative Technology course modules.

Intro to Perioperative Technology

Your stepping stone to becoming a surgical technician.

What You'll Learn

Success for Healthcare Professionals
Build professional habits that help you succeed in healthcare, including communication, time management, professionalism, and career readiness.

Anatomy & Physiology
Understand how the human body functions and develop the foundational knowledge required for surgical practice.

Medical Terminology
Learn the language used throughout hospitals and operating rooms so you can communicate confidently in clinical settings.

Preppy_SurgicalTech-Externship-PeriOpsCourseCards
Preppy_SurgicalTech-Externship-Process-Laptop_550x600

While You Learn, We'll Help You Pursue an Externship

As you get close to finishing your first course, our Career Placement Support Team will connect with you to start working on securing your externship.

They'll help you with:

  • Identifying hospitals and surgery centers in your area
  • Strategies for reaching out to potential host sites
  • Required documentation and next steps
  • Ongoing coaching and support throughout the placement process

Because healthcare facilities make the final decision about accepting students, securing an externship is a collaborative effort between you and our team. We'll support you throughout the process, but externship placement cannot be guaranteed.

If an Externship Is Secured

You'll be enrolled into the Surgical Technologist program where you'll:

Complete your surgical technology training

Finish your required 300-hour clinical externship

Become eligible to sit for the NCCT TS-C certification exam

If an Externship Cannot Be Secured

Rather than delaying graduation indefinitely, you'll have the option to transition into our Sterile Processing Technician concentration course.

This allows you to:

Graduate without waiting for an externship

Prepare for the HSPA CRCST certification exam (Note: 400 hours of hands-on clinical experience is required to obtain full certification)

Pursue entry-level sterile processing positions

Begin building experience supporting the operating room from the sterile processing department

Many sterile processing technicians work closely with surgical teams every day, making this an excellent way to gain operating room experience and build relationships that may create future opportunities in surgical technology through an employer.

Future advancement into Surgical Technology after employment occurs through your employer and is outside the scope of the Preppy program.

Ready to get started?

Before continuing, please review the following:

Enrollment in the Intro to Perioperative Technology pathway does not guarantee an externship or placement into the Surgical Technologist capstone.

If an approved externship is not secured, you will have the opportunity to complete the Sterile Processing Technician program, which prepares you for the Certified Registered Central Service Technician certification offered by the Healthcare Sterile Processing Association.

Any future transition into Surgical Technology after beginning a career in sterile processing would occur through your employer and is outside the scope of the Preppy program.

By enrolling in Intro to Perioperative Technology, I confirm I have read and understand the information above.

Intro to Perioperative Technology

$1,899

Lowest Total Cost

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​​​All materials included, no hidden fees

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​No interest

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​University certificate

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​Money-back guarantee

Preppy | A StraighterLine Company
Copyright 2026 © Preppy | A StraighterLine Company
Preppy | A StraighterLine Company
Copyright 2026 © Preppy