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Every day, nurses make countless decisions that affect patient care and ultimately save lives. How do they know they are making the right decision? They have been taught by experts in the field and have developed crucial skills such as clinical reasoning and critical thinking, and they’ve had hands-on experience. One way they get that experience is through simulation. The new labs at Pace’s College of Health Professions allow students to take part in simulations that expose them to a range of scenarios so they know exactly what to do when faced with these situations in real life. The labs also enable students to familiarize themselves with electronic medical records and prepare medications using computerized systems to reduce the chance of error.
The labs have the latest generation of human patient simulators (HPS), along with a video capture and playback system, so faculty members can evaluate students on their performance. Feedback from students has been extremely positive so far. “They look forward to practicing in the labs,” says Clinical Instructor Joanne Knoesel, RN. “A mistake made and learned from in the lab today under the watchful guidance of a faculty member could help save a life tomorrow in a real clinical setting.” Hospitals and other health care organizations seek out students with simulation on their resumes, according to Associate Dean Gerrie Colombraro, PhD, RN, “Our students have a competitive advantage when they graduate because they’ve done simulation. It shows potential employers that they’ve worked in teams to solve problems and that they’ve been exposed to complicated or high risk scenarios.”
