(LUBBOCK) – The experience of caring for a variety of patients in an actual hospital setting prior to receiving a nursing degree is now possible for Covenant School of Nursing (CSON) Students with the opening of the CSON Simulation Center. CSON students demonstrated how the simulation center provides hands-on experience to hone their nursing skills at a dedication ceremony and open house Thursday morning.
The CSON Simulation Center, located in a former wing of Covenant Medical Center, features a 12-bed patient unit and 12-bed emergency room. The center provides a safe environment for CSON students to practice and hone their skills on 15 different simulated mannequins. The mannequins are designed to generate a variety of human functions including lung sounds, heart tones, bowel sounds and more.
“This project has been three years in the making so we are more than thrilled to open the simulation center for our students,” Alicia Anger, the dean of CSON, said. “The center allows our students to learn and practice nursing skills. Most importantly, students can make mistakes without any harm to an actual patient.”
The unit also features a hi-fidelity mannequin that can simulate different labor scenarios, a hi-fidelity newborn mannequin and a hi-fidelity 1-year-old mannequin. The hi-fidelity mannequins feature technology which allows for a greater level of interaction, such as actual dialogue, between the nursing student and mannequin. Hi-fidelity mannequins also display a greater array of symptoms and scenarios.
“Research shows that simulation is an effective way to train nursing students,” Randall Stennett, simulation lab coordinator for CSON, said. “It is for that reason CSON students learn and practice in the simulation center every single semester until they graduate from our program.”
The space for the simulation center was donated by Covenant Health and the mannequins were funded through various grants and donations from the Covenant Cares program. Prior to the opening of the simulation center, CSON students interacted with the mannequins in a regular classroom setting.