The Evolution and Specialized Role of Cardiovascular Operating Room Surgical Technologists
The Evolution and Specialized Role of Cardiovascular Operating Room Surgical Technologists Historical Foundations and Professional Development The cardiovascular operating room (CVOR) surgical technologist (CST) role emerged from 20th-century military medicine. During World War I and II, medics and naval corpsmen performed battlefield surgeries under surgeon supervision, laying the groundwork for modern surgical assisting 1 . Post–Korean War nursing shortages prompted hospitals to repurpose ex-military personnel as operating room technicians (ORTs), who initially functioned as circulators while nurses scrubbed instruments 1 . By 1969, the Association of Operating Room Technicians (AORT) established the Liaison Council on Certification (now the National Board of Surgical Technology and Surgical Assisting, NBSTSA) to standardize training, administering the first CST exam in 1970 1 . The CVOR specialization evolved alongside cardiac surgery advancements in the 1980s, as procedu...