Oct 23, 2012
Vancouver, BC – A beautifully renovated, state-of-the-art simulation lab has been re-opened at Langara to enhance the education of students in the College’s nursing program. The facility, which features electric beds and high-tech Human Patient Simulators (HPS), was officially opened with a ribbon-cutting ceremony earlier this fall.
The new Nursing Simulation Centre is home to 27 electric beds that are equipped with oxygen, air, and suction ports, as well as privacy curtains to mimic real hospital situations. There are two simulation suites, which can be used for either acute care or community health simulations. The community suite is outfitted with furniture to resemble a home environment for students to practice new baby visits, home care nursing, mental health interdisciplinary home visits, or even flu clinics. The acute care suite enables students to simulate procedures for a variety of acute care situations including the need for oxygen therapy, code blue, pulmonary edema, and hemorrhage. The simulation lab and the skills lab can be opened up into one larger room as well to accommodate a larger learning environment if necessary.
Student Elaine Manacsa, who is in her seventh term of the nursing program, was chosen to cut the ribbon to officially open the centre. “This renovation is going to improve our ability to practice in realistic situations,” she said. “I feel very honored to have been a part of the ribbon-cutting ceremony.”
The simulation centre enhances learning through the use of numerous resources, such as task trainers and mannequins with heart, and breath sounds, as well as the high tech Human Patient Simulators (HPS). The simulators are computer-driven, human-like mannequins that bring an exceptional degree of realism to nursing education. They have human characteristics such as the ability to blink, measurable heart rates, blood pressure, respirations, and pulses. They can also cry, sweat, and bleed. Authentic scenarios using HPS teach students how to recognize client symptoms and develop, implement, and evaluate appropriate interventions for real-life nursing situations.
“Nursing simulation puts the students in a realistic environment so they feel they have experienced the real thing,” said Janine Lennox, the Chair for Langara’s School of Nursing. “They need to use all their nursing skills such as psychomotor skills, communication, leadership, decision-making, teamwork, etc., in a professional way. This new simulation lab provides our students with the necessary tools to hone these skills.”
For more information on the program or prerequisites visit www.langara.bc.ca/nursing.
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Yvonne Ohara
Manager, Communications and Marketing
Communications and Marketing, Langara College
604.323.5014 | news@langara.bc.ca