Wagner nursing students get realistic hands-on experience in the Hi Fidelity Simulation Lab of the Nursing Resource Center. Catherine Boccanfuso ’81 M’91, who is board certified in medical/surgical nursing as well as simulation certified, is director of the center.
Michelle Conrad, Jamil Jefferson, and Elizabeth Higgins are three of the students in the Med Surg II Simulation Lab. Simulations are used across the nursing curriculum, allowing students to apply their learning and employ real decision-making in a safe environment.
2. Two video cameras record what happens during the simulation. Afterward, the students debrief with their instructor. “It’s definitely easier to identify heart rhythms on paper than on the monitor, when they are moving,” says Jefferson.
3. In a control room behind the one-way mirror, Catherine Boccanfuso uses a microphone and computer to guide a simulation of cardiac arrest. She voices the patient’s questions and responses, and she programs the vital signs and cardiac rhythms that appear on the monitor.
4. The simulation gives students hands-on experience dealing with a high-risk health event that does not occur often. The simulation boosts their confidence and complements their classroom and clinical training.
5. The Nursing Resource Center includes additional general skills labs, a mother and baby area, and real-life examination tools. The financial support of Trustee Kim Spiro has allowed the nursing program to acquire, maintain, and expand this vital training facility.
