FSCC nursing program to receive new training aid

Thursday, October 16, 2008

Students and instructors in the Fort Scott Community College Nursing Department will soon benefit from the latest advancements in clinical training, equipment and technology.

The FSCC Nursing Department was recently awarded a $59,686 Carl D. Perkins Reserve Funds grant for the purchase of a Medical Education Technologies, Inc. Pediatric Human Simulator, and to help fund faculty development in the use of human simulators.

FSCC Director of Nursing Bill Rhoads said the human simulator consists of a mannequin in the form of a human -- which is activated with compressed air -- that is connected to a computer system. Students can then use the simulator to train for situations they would typically encounter in an actual clinical environment. Rhoads said the simulators are currently being used in career health education programs nationwide.

With the simulators, students can practice common nursing procedures and learn from their mistakes as they work toward a nursing degree and eventually, with a live patient, Rhoads said.

"It (the simulator) allows for mistakes in a training situation that normally would not be allowed to take place in a real clinical environment, so it's a better learning opportunity," he said. "The students have had positive remarks and really like the experience. They see it as the wave of the future."

Rhoads said students can use the mannequin and computer simulation program to listen to heart and lung sounds, work with intravenous (IV) tubes, and other common clinical procedures. The computer display at the bedside of the "patient" also allows students to monitor heart rates, blood pressure readings and other vital sign data, as well as the patient's health history.

Students are eventually tested on the program by a computer operator who chooses simulated nursing care challenges for them to face, Rhoads said.

"The mannequin is tied to a computer, and the operator controls the simulation so vital signs can change based on what procedure is being done or not being done, in some cases," he said.

FSCC is a strategic partner with Pittsburg State University and Labette County Community College in the development and use of human simulators in nursing programs throughout Southeast Kansas. The partnership is beneficial in that it allows nursing programs at the three institutions to share resources such as equipment and software, information and knowledge, and faculty development.

"Faculty training on the equipment is also provided through the grant," Rhoads said. "FSCC, PSU and Labette County Community College make use of faculty training as strategic partners."

The Perkins grant for the pediatric simulator is one of many contributions made to the FSCC Nursing Department this fall. The department has also received contributions from Mercy Health Center, Heartland Behavioral Health Services in Nevada, Mo., and Girard Medical Center, for the establishment of a human simulation lab at FSCC, according to a written FSCC statement.

A separate Perkins grant awarded earlier this fall funded an adult simulator that the FSCC Nursing Department expects to receive on campus by the end of the year or the start of the spring 2009 semester, once an official purchase has been approved, Rhoads said. The department also has a goal of eventually purchasing an infant simulator which would complete the "family" of simulators needed for the nursing program, he said.

Other purchases the department would like to make in the future include various audio and video recording equipment that would enhance simulation teaching and the students' learning environment. With this equipment, a video camera would record a student completing a clinical procedure as other students watch in an adjacent classroom. Those students would then critique the performance, followed by a critique and assigned grade from the instructor, Rhoads said.

"After the simulation, there would be a period of debriefing so teachers can visit with students about improvements in a clinical setting," he said. "It adds to the educational experience."

The simulators could also potentially be beneficial to area businesses in the health industry that have a need for the simulator training program, Rhoads said.

Perkins grants are federal workforce development funds that are used to pay for equipment and staff development at educational institutions nationwide. Certain amounts of grant funds are allocated to various state agencies that later distribute the funds to eligible institutions that have applied for a grant.