The College of Nursing held a grand opening tour of its new office and simulation lab spaces on Feb. 6.
The spaces, located in the Education building at Fort Garry campus, include 21 private offices and 10 shared workstations, in two office areas that are roughly 4,344 sq. ft. combined. There is also an approximately 1,374 sq. ft. simulation area.
The move was necessary after the expansion of the bachelor of nursing program last year. There are now an additional 120 nursing students each year, and the college also hired several new faculty and staff.
The move into the new space started on Dec. 20 and continued after the holiday break. Most of the college’s new faculty are located in Education 137, along with two directors. Across the hall, in Education 134, there are two researchers who will be able to house their research assistants within a shared workstation area.
The simulation area includes a virtual reality (VR) lab, where up to 10 students work through VR learning scenarios in groups of two – one immersed in the VR experience and the other driving the scenario on a desktop computer. There are also two state-of-the-art simulation labs that replicate acute care hospital rooms. The simulation labs include four of the nine newly acquired mid-to-high-fidelity manikins.
“The new manikins have anatomical advancements which offer our students highly realistic patient encounters,” said Barbara Rose-Lovett, director of the skills and simulation centres.
The lifelike manikins have age-appropriate anatomy, palpable bone structure, and can replicate a variety of body functions such as breathing, blinking and speaking, with the help of a simulation operator located in a separate booth.
“We have one infant manikin, two pediatric, two birthing manikins, one geriatric-specific, one male-specific, and two females. We were also conscious to purchase manikins that are representative of our student population and the diverse population we care for,” said Rose-Lovett.
“This equipment supports the simulation programming and provides our learners with a robust breadth in clinical learning scenarios across the lifespan.”
Approximately 40 faculty and staff attended the tour, and many tried the VR simulations for the first time, including College of Nursing dean Dr. Netha Dyck.
“I was delighted to gain first-hand experience in the use of VR technology. It was amazing to apply the headset and be transformed into a real-world clinical environment, with a realistic patient and hospital setting, and readily perform patient care,” she said.
Dr. Donna Martin, associate dean (graduate programs), also tried the VR simulation, guided by instructor Sufia Turner.
“My initial thoughts of this in-hospital patient care experience were that it was very real as I was introduced to the patient by a chart summary with their entrance complaint and vital signs. Then, I virtually entered the hospital room and met the virtual patient, who had the most amazing eye contact with me,” Martin said.
