Boris Feldman, SA-C, ABSA Certified

I have been serving Inova Fairfax Hospital more than 15 years, assisting in over 10,000 surgeries, most of them high risk Cesarean Sections. I have built trust and confidence with my surgical assisting services throughout the Inova Health System and with over 100 surgeons during this time. Many of my colleagues are ABSA Certified and are successfully providing similar services for Inova and other hospitals and health systems in Virginia.  

 In accordance with Chapter 531 of the 2014 Acts of the Assembly, Chapter 160 sets forth regulations for registration of surgical assistants that define and limit our registration in Virginia as a Registered Surgical Assistant. Unfortunately this new regulation will exclude many highly qualified, skilled and well educated surgical assistants for reasons having nothing to do with their skill or expertise. Most of them have substantial surgical background (I was a Pediatric Thoracic Surgeon in Russia). Their decision to certify with American Board of Surgical Assistants (ABSA), a nationally recognized certifying body, may lead many of these to lose their employment and Virginia State. 

ABSA has since 1987 professionally provided Certification, education and credentialing process for 4089 surgical assistants in the USA more than 2300 of whom are currently active and successfully in their practices. ABSA has not been a static certifying body; it is constantly raising the bar of educational requirements in order to promote safety and public protection. It is affiliated with multiple training and educational programs (eg Surgical Skillz, Ace Surgical Assisting, School of Allied Health Professions and others). Like myself, many ABSA Certified surgical assistants hold Doctor of Medicine degrees from prestigious universities around the world.  ABSA SA's are recognized by all Virginia State Hospitals and Surgery Centers as for hospital services and private practice  and by most of the States in the US.

.  The exclusion the ABSA and ABSA Certified Surgical Assistants from VA Surgical Assistants Registration has no legitimate safety, regulatory, or professional rationale. The reasons are political and economic, and do not serve the public interest.  As a consequence of this decision many highly trained and skilled SA's may no longer be recognized by the State and many long-standing professional relationships will be broken.  

In the interest of fairness to the certified surgical professionals and the patients and families they serve, the American Board of Surgical Assistants must to be included in the list of credentialing bodies recognized by the State of Virginia.

Respectfully, 

Boris Feldman