Nine students from Herricks High School’s Medical Technology class, under the guidance of teacher Dana Fischer, had the opportunity to see and learn about Northwell Health’s Monter Cancer Center in New Hyde Park on Dec. 8. This clinical site visit was conducted as the first phase of the SPARK! Challenge, a healthcare career program now in its fourth year.
A nurse manager and two nurses hosted the Herricks group and provided a tour of the cancer institute and background information about how the center is run on a daily basis. The students then explored the facility’s resources and learned about their impacts.
The students received hands-on experiences in administering IV chemotherapy and using IVs, catheters and ports through the use of teaching dummies. They witnessed pharmacists preparing chemotherapy drugs in the clean room and even had the opportunity to draw “medicine” into a syringe. They visited the center’s blood lab, where technicians were using the instrumentation, and viewed different blood conditions through microscopes. Additionally, the research team spoke with the students about clinical trials for cancer patients.
The objective of the visit was to expose the students to STEM careers. As the next step to the SPARK! Challenge, they will collaborate to create a project and presentation for a fair to be held in April at the Cradle of Aviation.
