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Exceptional Speakers, Tours, Networking, Food, and Prizes!


MN State Assembly is Celebrating its


"25th Anniversary"

and

"National Surgical Technologist Week"


at the In-Person


"2025 Fall Workshop & Annual Business Meeting"



Saturday, September 20, 2025



LifeSource

2225 W River Road N

Minneapolis, MN 55411


Pre-Registered Check-in 6:45 am - 7:25 am


~ NO Same Day Registrations ~


Space is Limited!


6 CEs AST Approved


Contact: Lori Molus at mnast2016@outlook.com



Featured Speakers & Topics

(6 CEs AST approved)

 

Jodi Licalzi, AST CEO | "Championing the Next Chapter of AST”


John Mason, MA, Quality Improvement Director | “Applying Quality Improvement Concepts to System Challenges”


Umar Farooq, MD |"Normothermic Regional Perfusion (NRP): Ethics and Science"


Kelley Wichman, CSFA, SRS, and Brianna Allen, CSFA, SRS | “Surgical Technology in Organ Procurement and Preservation" 


Skylar Putt, CCSVP| “Biofilm Basics-Point of Use Cleaning in the Operating Room”


Greg DeNunzio, DC, MS, MHS, BSNE | “Preventing Repetitive Stress Injuries”


Employers, Colleges, and Universities may pay by Credit Card, PayPal, or Company Check.


Payment by Credit Card:

NOTE: You MUST fill out a separate online registration form for each member or student being paid for. To register employees or students, click here.


Payment by Company Check:

If payment is by Company Check, please contact Naydeen Pollak, MNSA Treasurer @ mnast2016@outlook.com to obtain mailing information.


NOTE: Accompanying that Company Check, you MUST complete a separate paper registration form for each member or student being paid for. Download the Brochure below.


Sorry, NO REFUNDS!

MNSA is now on Instagram!


@MNAST2016


Come follow us on Instagram!

MNSA Instagram QR Code

Minnesota State Assembly (MNSA)

2026 AST National Conference Scholarship Application


The Minnesota State Assembly is pleased to offer a scholarship to attend the 2026 AST National Conference in Seattle, WA, May 31-June 2, 2026. This application is open to first-time attendees only. Scholarship submission deadline: December 31, 2025. 

Applications will be reviewed and the winner announced by January 31, 2026.


Scholarship Covers: Conference registration fee (amount of early bird registration, $350)

Please click the link or use the QR code to access the application.


Link to application: Scholarship

or

QR CODE:

Elections will be held during the Annual Business Meeting for:


6 Delegates

6 Alternate Delegates

3 Officers - President, Vice President, and Treasurer

2 Directors


TERMS UP ON THE MNSA BOARD FOR ELECTION ON 9/20/25:


PRESIDENT: 2-year term; 2025 - 2027 (odd-numbered years)


VICE PRESIDENT: 2-year term; 2025 - 2027 (odd-numbered years)


TREASURER: 2-year term; 2025 - 2027 (odd-numbered years)


2 - DIRECTORS: 2-year term; 2025 - 2027 (odd-numbered years)


________________________________________________________________


RE: OFFICERS & DIRECTORS OF THE BOARD ELECTIONS


PRESIDENT: 2-year term; odd-numbered years


VICE PRESIDENT: 2-year term; odd-numbered years


TREASURY: 2-year term; odd-numbered years


SECRETARY: 2-year term; even-numbered years


3 - DIRECTORS: 2-year term; even-numbered years


2 - DIRECTORS: 2-year term; odd-numbered years

 


RE: ELIGIBILITY


OFFICER POSITION: Candidates interested in an officer position shall have been an active AST member for one year immediately preceding nomination. If elected, the member must maintain active status with AST.

 

DIRECTOR POSITION: Candidates interested in a Director position shall have been a member for one year immediately preceding nomination. If elected, the member must maintain active status with AST. (You could be a student member as long as you are certified at the time of nominations.)


If you want to serve in any of these offices, please contact us with any questions.

  • Interested candidates must be an active AST member for one year immediately preceding nomination.
  • If elected, the member must maintain active status with AST.
  • If you are interested in how our profession is shaped in Minnesota, please consider joining the MN State Assembly Board.
  • Commitment entails 2 LIVE in-person Workshops a year and monthly Board meetings throughout the year or as needed for planning workshops.


RE: DELEGATE & ALTERNATE ELECTIONS


Both AST National and State Assembly Bylaws stipulate that delegates are to be “elected by the state assembly.” What does this mean? A state assembly must conduct elections

for delegates and alternates in the same way as Board elections.


BEFORE ELECTIONS



  • At least 60 days to advertise delegate elections to the general membership.
  • The candidate submits the Consent to Serve Form to the Credential Committee. (A CV is not required.)
  • Eligibility is an active member of AST.
  • In the month of April or May, no elections can be held.


ELECTIONS


  • A quorum must be met to conduct elections.
  • A state assembly is entitled to six (6) delegates and six (6) alternates.
  • Delegates and alternates shall be active members elected by the membership. (Only active members may vote.)
  • A ballot cast in person is valid. Other forms, such as the raising of hands, volunteers, and voting by email or phone, are void.
  • The membership elects the alternate at the same time as the delegates.
  • Members of the Board cannot be delegates or alternates if not elected by the membership.
  • The president or any other board member cannot appoint delegates or alternates.


AFTER ELECTIONS


Submit the attached interactive Delegate and Alternate Form to AST within five (5) days of the elections.


ELIGIBILITY - ACTIVE MEMBER OF AST


  • An individual must be certified by the National Board of Surgical Technology & Surgical Assisting (NBSTSA) as a Certified Surgical Technologist (CST). A CSFA only (not a CST) and Pre77s without currency are not eligible.
  • The individual must be current in their AST membership and at the time of the AST National Conference.


AT THE AST ANNUAL NATIONAL CONFERENCE



During the national conference, the only time a President or Chair can move an alternate to a delegate:

  • When a delegate does not attend the conference, the state has previously designated an alternate and conference attendance.
  • When a State Assembly President or Chair finds a delegate is not following their state assembly policies.


Below, you can download the applications you need to read through and fill out. If you didn't get a chance to complete them before the day of the workshop, there will be applications to complete at the Fall Workshop registration table for Delegate, Officer, and Director positions. Once you have completed any of the application forms, you can email or mail them to the MN State Assembly at mnast2016@outlook.com.


MNSA has its own website!



mnast.mn




**Remember to add our new website address to your Contacts.


Two Year Cycle

  • Thirty (30) continuing education credits, including 4 defined as advanced, will be required for a CST to renew at the end of the 2-year cycle. You earn credits for the cycle that you are currently in. Those currently in a 4-year cycle need 60 continuing education credits to renew, then will need 30 at the end of their first two-year cycle. 


  • Thirty-eight (38) continuing education credits, including 8 defined as advanced, will be required for renewing CSFAs to renew at the end of the 2-year cycle. You earn credits for the cycle that you are currently in. Those currently in a 4-year cycle need 75 continuing education credits to renew, then will need 38 at the end of their first two-year cycle. 


Required Live CE

In 2019, the National Board for Surgical Technology and Surgical Assisting (NBSTSA) announced that the certification cycle for the Certified Surgical Technologist (CST)® and the Certified Surgical First Assistant (CSFA)® was changed from four to two years, effective January 1, 2020.


For those in the new two-year cycle, CSTs are required to earn a total of 30 CE credits including 4 CE credits earned in Live CE settings and CSFAs are required to earn 38 CE credits including 8 earned in Live CE settings. 


Live CE is — "All CE sessions presented at AST-approved conferences, workshops, AST State Assembly meetings, employer in-services, grand rounds, physician professional meetings including live or on-demand CE webinars or videos and live CE by manufacturers.”


Examples of live CE that will be accepted and processed for recertification include:

  • Live CE processed for recertification earned at those conferences, workshops, state assembly meetings, employer in-services, grand rounds, and physician professions must be approved by AST or otherwise comply with the AST Continuing Education Policies for the CST and CSFA.
  • AST will approve Live CE for manufacturers but not on-demand CE webinars or videos.
  • For documentation requirements when submitting Live CE credits, visit https://www.ast.org/Members/AST_CE_Policies/.