{"id":55814,"date":"2025-12-17T11:33:16","date_gmt":"2025-12-17T16:33:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.virginiawestern.edu\/bulletin\/?p=55814"},"modified":"2025-12-17T11:33:19","modified_gmt":"2025-12-17T16:33:19","slug":"support-propels-career-in-surgical-technology","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.virginiawestern.edu\/bulletin\/2025\/12\/17\/support-propels-career-in-surgical-technology\/","title":{"rendered":"Support Propels Career in Surgical Technology"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Onaca Umak had originally planned to study nursing at Virginia Western, but after applying to the program, she learned she was missing a prerequisite course. That was far from the end of her healthcare education at the College, however. Guided by her academic advisor and inspired by the TV show, “Grey’s Anatomy,” Umak set out on a new path: Surgical Technology.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Umak had always been interested in the healthcare field and, as she progressed further into the Surgical Technology Program, she discovered it was ultimately a better fit. Her interests aligned more closely with hands-on medical work, rather than documentation and charting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“One reason why I really wanted to go into the medical field is because I loved anatomy. I genuinely loved figuring out how everything works together to help us function,” Umak said. “I applied, got accepted, and here we are. The rest is history.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After graduating in May 2025, Umak accepted a position at LewisGale Medical Center and looked forward to working with the program’s students during their clinical rotations in fall 2025.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“It’s definitely my passion. I wanted to make a difference in someone’s life, and I genuinely feel like I am,” Umak said. “Getting to watch as a cancer is removed or as a burn patient gets a skin graft – you don’t realize how much it affects you until after the fact, and you’re like, ‘Oh my gosh, I really just did that.’ “<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Read more about Umak and the Surgical Technology Program, and how programs such as CCAP and Fralin Futures helped her, in this story by Allison Taylor for Impact magazine.<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Onaca Umak had originally planned to study nursing at Virginia Western, but after applying to the program, she learned she was missing a prerequisite course. That was far from the end of her healthcare education at the College, however. Guided by her academic advisor and inspired by the TV show, “Grey’s Anatomy,” Umak set out (Read the full article…)<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":81,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[24],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-55814","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-campus-news"],"featured_image_src":null,"author_info":{"display_name":"Erica Myatt","author_link":"https:\/\/www.virginiawestern.edu\/bulletin\/author\/emyatt\/"},"yoast_head":"\nSupport Propels Career in Surgical Technology - Virginia Western Bulletin<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Support Propels Career in Surgical Technology - Virginia Western Bulletin\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Onaca Umak had originally planned to study nursing at Virginia Western, but after applying to the program, she learned she was missing a prerequisite course. 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