Chapel Hill High School's Allied Health and Medicine students got a preview of what a career in surgical services really feels like — literally.

As part of their Surgical Services unit, students completed a hands-on suturing exercise, learning proper technique on a tissue analog that closely mirrors human skin: chicken.

Why chicken? Chicken skin has layers of skin, fat and muscle similar to human tissue, giving students realistic resistance and feedback as they practice interrupted and continuous suturing, knot-tying and instrument handling, said Monique Tolbert, who teaches the Allied Health and Medicine Pathway.

Students who complete this unit are building foundational skills for careers such as surgical technologist, surgical first assistant, operating room nurse, physician assistant, physician, wound care specialist, veterinary technician and paramedic — any field where steady hands and procedural precision matter, Tolbert said.

This exercise is more than a memorable lab day. It's a required clinical skill under Georgia's Career, Technical and Agricultural Education (CTAE) Health Science standards, and it reinforces safety practices students will carry into any healthcare career: sharps handling, glove use, proper disposal of biological materials and sanitizing work surfaces — all part of universal precautions training.

"This suturing exercise gives our Allied Health and Medicine students the actual feel of tissue under a needle," Tolbert said. "We use chicken because it mirrors human skin closely enough to build real muscle memory, safely and affordably, before students ever step into a clinical setting. My hope is that they walk away with steady hands, real confidence, and a genuine sense of what it takes to work in surgical services or patient care — and that this is the moment some of them realize, 'I can actually do this as a career.'"