NCCC professor named president of National Surgical Technology and Surgical Assisting Board

Niagara County Community College Surgical Technology Program Coordinator and professor Gemma Fournier was recently named president of the National Board of Surgical Technology and Surgical Assisting.

The NBSTSA is the certifying agency for surgical technologists in the U.S. This organization is responsible for all decisions regarding certification – from determining eligibility to maintaining, denying, granting and renewing the designation. Fournier was first appointed to the NBSTSA in 2018.

Beginning her career as a certified surgical technologist (CST) in 1989 at Niagara Falls Memorial Medical Center, Fournier went on to begin her teaching career at NCCC in 1995. She has been a member of the Association of Surgical Technologists (AST) for the past 29 years and is a New York state registered nurse and a member of the Association of periOperative Registered Nurses (AORN). At the state level, she served on the Association of Surgical Technologists New York Assembly Board (NYAST) as president, vice president, secretary, director and delegate for 10 years.

Fournier earned her associate degree in applied sciences/surgical technology degree from NCCC, bachelor’s degree in nursing from Niagara University, and her master’s in nursing from University of Phoenix. In May 2012, she received the Fellows of the Association of Surgical Technologists (FAST) Award, followed by the Association of Surgical Technologists Didactic Educators Award and State of New York (SUNY) Chancellors Excellence in Teaching Award in 2013.

NCCC’s surgical technology program is a two-year program that offers specialized surgical technology lectures, well-rounded general education courses, and hands-on experience at clinical sites such as the Niagara Falls Memorial Medical Center, Catholic Health System, Kaleida Health System, and ECMC. NCCC graduates are employed throughout Buffalo/Niagara area hospitals and ambulatory surgery centers. The class of 2022 achieved 86% job placement upon completion of the surgical technology AAS degree.