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Why is Simulation a Critical Part of the Student Nurses’ Learning Experience?
Cambridge College of Healthcare & Technology is excited to offer a cutting-edge nursing simulation lab for our Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) and Associate of Science in Nursing (ASN) programs. Registered nurses are at the forefront of caregiving in almost every clinical setting across healthcare. As we face the challenges of meeting the demand for nurses and the growing complexities of the clinical skills necessary to perform their role, nurses must be trained to adapt to the evolving healthcare environment. For this reason, nursing students need to engage in an education that provides a wide range of hands-on learning activities to achieve competency.
According to the National Institute for Health, “The implementation of simulation enables students to practice their clinical and decision-making skills for some significant issues they may face in their daily work. The protected environment and the sense of security enhance students’ self-esteem and confidence, thus promoting learning. In this way, the gap between theory and practice is substantially reduced” (Koukourikos et al., 2021).
Industry Current Simulation Training at our Campuses
“Incorporating high-quality fidelity simulation education into our nursing curriculum was a top priority when designing the labs for our nursing programs. Our educational experience aligns with the Department of Education’s (2017) position to recommend nursing students’ education include simulation. Furthermore, their research indicated that nursing students who participate in education programs involving simulations make fewer medical errors in clinical settings and are more likely to develop critical thinking and clinical decision-making skills,” stated Tara Stephen, MSN-Ed, RN, PHN, ASN Program Dean of Cambridge’s Atlanta campus.
Our nursing faculty have designed a simulation lab with state-of-the-art patient simulators for an immersive learning experience to equip our students to develop the skills and competencies to be excellent nurse clinicians. Each student will participate in faculty-led Standardized simulation patient scenarios threaded throughout our unique concept-based curriculum. Every simulation experience allows the student to practice hands-on assessment skills, teamwork, and communication while interacting with lifelike simulation mannikins across the lifespan from newborn to older adult. Our simulation lab allows our students to encounter a diverse patient population systematically, which is representative of the actual patient population in their future work environments.
Simulation Lab Suite
The nursing simulation laboratory clinical learning opportunities include:
- Pediatric
- Adult Medical/Surgical
- Critical care
- Mental Health
- Maternity/Newborn
- Health assessment/Skills labs
Various fidelities of human patient simulators, in which students encounter patient situations with symptoms, diseases, and conditions expected in a traditional clinical setting.
Students’ experiences in the lab include the utilization of some of the most current technology in healthcare settings, including:
- IV pumps
- EKG machine
- Medication carts
- Age-specific crash carts
- Electronic Health Record
- Defibrillators (CPR manikin with feedback)
The nursing simulation lab also has control rooms adjacent to the lab. This room is for the observation and recording of clinical simulations, which are utilized for reflection and debriefing of simulations.