Roxanne Mendoza’s Inspiring Journey: From Career Search to Surgical Technology Success

In her early twenties, Roxanne Mendoza knew it was time to lock onto a career direction, and the medical field was her first choice. She wanted to do something in her work that helped others but she didn’t want to spend years to get there. Roxanne searched online and found San Joaquin Valley College’s Surgical Technology program that checked a lot of her career benefit boxes.

Roxanne watched a few YouTube videos on Surgical Technician responsibilities and felt the fit. “I can do this!” was her immediate response, and SJVC’s Fresno campus was only an hour’s drive away. Time to make the deep-dive into an exciting career.

What attracted you to a Surgical Technology career?

You’re the one handling all the surgical tools, anticipating the surgeon’s needs, using critical thinking, and ensuring patient safety and that of everyone else in the room. It’s a lot of responsibility and high stress in the operating room, but that’s what makes it so rewarding.

It’s one of those careers that you will only know it is for you when you are put in that situation. We all want to feel important in what we do, and this job has that opportunity for you.

Did SJVC’s Surgical Technology program deliver what you expected?

I could do something I love in less time. I didn’t have to go to a huge university and do math and chemistry to get something great in the medical field. And my work ethic pushed me to work a little bit harder to get through it.

What was your greatest struggle?

Just balancing my financial life and schoolwork. And the drive was an hour away, four days a week. My vehicle was a 2020 and had 40k miles on it; now it’s close to 100k miles, it was a lot. But never once did I think I needed to quit. I might be on my way home crying, but was telling myself, ‘God, thank you, because I’ve found what I like to do’.

For me, this was my only way to climb toward that better life. I just knew it was worth it.

Did you have the faculty support you needed in your program?

If something was in the way of me doing well, my instructors were willing to help me bounce back with personal study sessions or with video chats. And, I had access to them 24/7. It’s so easy to be your worst critic, but having even one person believe in you helps you believe in yourself.

Did you have any doubts about choosing a career as a Surgical Technician?

When we entered clinicals (soon-to-graduate students’ on-the-job work experience) everything got so real. The thing about being a Surg Tech is if your stomach can handle it, it’s going to be ok. And if the person teaching you could do it, then you can learn it and do it, too.

What inspired you to keep pushing toward your career goals?

I told myself, ‘You’re putting yourself through all this stress and pain, you might as well stay in for a big reward.’ And I do feel like I got that reward. As a student I would get these small paychecks, now every two weeks I see my (financial) reward and can say it was worth it.

 As a Surgical Technician, how does your workday usually start?

I do morning scrubs to be surgically clean, anticipating I will have a surgery. If I have a surgery I check patient information, surgery (procedure) and surgeon. I have learned each surgeon’s preferences and techniques and select instruments I think that surgeon will need. My surgeons are great and understand I am still learning, so I may need to ask them their needs more specifically.

We have a human life in our hands, so we don’t want to second guess the surgeon’s needs.

What is one of the best moments in an operating room experience for you?

My surgeon asked if we could have a moment, quiet the room down and refocus the group. I scanned the room before the first incision. It takes a lot for a person to see an open body and not make it about themselves and their reaction to that open body. We are the one percent of 8 billion people on earth who get to do this. It feels really amazing.

Was the hard work and sacrifice worth it for this career choice?

When you’re doing your job as part of a team and things turn out successfully, your patient gets to go home. You feel like whatever chaos was involved in getting there was worth it. You were part of what made that happen.

What advice would you give others considering a Surg Tech career?

Life is not meant to be easy, and struggle can be your friend. It can build character. And in this career, you have to build a strong character. When you walk into an OR (operating room) you have to have confidence in who you are and what you’re doing. If you don’t, you should probably get out of that room.

What is your vision for the future?

I want to get comfortable in my career. There’s still so much I have to learn. And, if there’s a chance to climb higher and do something bigger for myself, I will. I don’t know what that is yet, but when the time comes, I will take advantage of it.

Right now, this is where I was meant to be.