UTICA - Students in SUNY Poly’s family nurse practitioner (FNP) program Wednesday took the opportunity to learn common office medical procedures at the Campus Center gymnasium as part of Nurse Practitioner Procedure Day. 

The event, organized by 2009 SUNY Poly graduate Janice Ceccucci, DNP, FNP-BC, was funded by a grant through the Office of the Provost, and it provided a way for students at all levels to fulfill the FNP curriculum requirement. 

Staffed by healthcare professionals from Utica and the Capital Region, nearly 150 students visited several stations that focused on topics, from reading and ordering X-rays to surgical suturing—with plenty of hot dogs, raw chicken, and yogurt to simulate human flesh, tissue, muscle, and fluids for practice. 

Other stations included discussions on ophthalmology, EKG interpretation, orthopedics, foreign body removal, cyst removal, and abscess drainage. 

“In the past we’ve done it ourselves in a smaller setting, but this year we were able to get a grant in order to make it a large-scale event,” Ceccucci said. “This year we hired speakers, we expanded the content we cover, and invited all levels of nurse practitioner students so they could all participate.”

The event was recorded for students unable to attend and will soon be available to watch online through the College of Nursing. 

“I think events like these are important because the students who are going out to practice are going to be my colleagues. I want to make sure they have the best education possible and they’re the best.”