Arkansas State Assembly

Four of the eight FAST recipients in Arkansas attended the reception in Seattle, which celebrated all new recipients and honored those who hold the designation. Pictured below (L to R): Cynthia Lewis, Tammy Schaefer, Debbie Adair, and Tamara Morgan

The Arkansas State Assembly for Surgical Technologists, alongside the Illinois, Tennessee, and Washington state assemblies, received the AST State Leadership Award for 2025 during the opening ceremony of the AST National Conference on Sunday, May 31, 2026. This distinction marks the third AST Leadership Award for ARSA, following previous recognitions in 2017 and 2021.

The AST Foundation for Surgical Technology annually presents three Constellation Awards to distinguished educators, with two of this year's recipients hailing from Arkansas. Congratulations to Sheena Ramey, Treasurer of ARSA and faculty of Northwest Arkansas Community College, received the Rising Star award. Tammy Schaefer, Vice President of ARSA and Clinical Coordinator at University of Arkansas-Fort Smith, was honored with the Shining Star award.

ARSA President Tamara Morgan, Vice President Tammy Schaefer, and Treasurer Sheena Ramey represented the organization at the student forum raffle in Seattle, where ARSA donated sweatshirts and a laptop, with Morgan Childress from Texas winning the laptop.

This year, AST and its members demonstrated their commitment to supporting Seattle Children's Hospital by acknowledging their efforts to provide essential items to children, teenagers, and their families. To further facilitate this support, ARSA donated gift cards. ARSA Vice President Tammy Schaefer and ARSA Treasurer Sheena Ramey are pictured below with the donations.

ARSA had five members representing our state at the AST National Conference in Seattle. They attended two business meetings, a candidates forum, a bylaws forum, and voted in the election for the AST national board.

Pictured from left to right:
Debbie Adair, Tammy Schaefer-ARSA VP, Tamara Morgan-ARSA President, Cindy Lewis, Sheena Ramey-ARSA Treasurer

ARSA delegates at the opening night party in Seattle!

The first day of the AST conference in Seattle started off with flying fish! They spoke about the importance of teamwork and good leadership. Very informative and entertaining!

NBSTSA® Certifications Mean Something

CST® and CSFA® aren’t generic titles—they never have been.

CST® and CSFA® have always been registered trademarks, earned only by those certified through NBSTSA® (that’s right, our organization is trademarked too!). Not all certifications are equal—and not every surgical technologist is a CST®. But we’re seeing it used loosely. Applied to anyone. Used interchangeably. Diluted.

That stops here.

NBSTSA® is doubling down on protecting the CST® and CSFA® credentials—reinforcing what they stand for and making sure employers, educators, and healthcare leaders understand the difference.

So, yes, you’re going to see this little ® mark everywhere. Because your accredited education, verified clinical training, and passing a rigorous national exam matters—for your profession and for patient safety.

And we’re making sure it stays that way.

See it misused? Report it to [email protected]

The Daniel Castleberry Memorial Student Scholarship has been awarded to IyTeisha Box and Rebecca Richey, highlighting eight years of recognizing outstanding students with this honor.