TORONTO, February 17, 2006 -- A nurse is caring for a patient admitted to hospital with chest pain. He says he feels sore, weak, and short of breath. While he is waiting for cardiac tests, she assesses his condition. Suddenly, his heart stops. She starts CPR and calls for help.
It sounds like a television episode of Grey’s Anatomy, but it isn’t. The patient is not human, and the nurse is a student, learning to think on her feet using clinical simulation technology at York University’s Nursing Resource Centre.
The new 5,000-square-foot centre officially opens on Monday. It features “Smart Dummies,” sophisticated mannequins used to train nursing students to problem solve and respond to critical situations on the spot. The human-like “patients” can be programmed by computer to experience various conditions that affect their airways, breathing, or circulation.
The mannequins can talk, express pain or comfort, make coughing, vomiting or rapid breathing sounds to simulate health problems and present situations that require nursing students to assess and treat their patient in real time – otherwise the patient will “die.”
Nursing students can practice everything from inserting a catheter to removing sutures to starting IVs. The centre also features a trauma room, audio-visual room, and an isolation unit where they can practice the sterile procedures required during an outbreak of viral diseases such as SARS.
“This clinical simulation technology provides an awesome learning opportunity for students to hone their problem-solving skills and respond to a situation within a specific time frame,” says Kim Shadlock, manager of the nursing resource centre. “It is definitely the latest and greatest way to teach students in a hands-on way, but it’s an adjunct to their overall learning.”
Nursing education must deliver a balance of theory and practice, says Lesley Beagrie, director of York University’s School of Nursing. The simulations therefore demand more than just skills, but also knowledge. Students must solve problems by conducting a head-to-toe assessment of the patient, reading and deciphering the patient’s chart, and develop an appropriate response to the situation at hand.
“Patient safety is becoming increasingly important throughout health care,” says Beagrie. “Our new equipment enables nursing students to develop and enhance the skills and knowledge they need to make critical decisions. Clinical problems often present in a confusing or complex way, and simulation technology is one more learning tool we have to help prepare nurses for the challenges they will face.”
The ribbon cutting and open house will take place on Monday, February 20 at 4:00 p.m. followed by a reception and update on developments in Nursing programs at York University. The centre is in Room 304, third floor of the Health, Nursing & Environmental Studies Building on York University’s Keele Campus. Student demonstrations of the simulation equipment will also take place at 11:00 a.m. on Monday.
York University is the leading interdisciplinary research and teaching university in Canada. York offers a modern, academic experience at the undergraduate and graduate level in Toronto, Canada’s most international city. The third largest university in the country, York is host to a dynamic academic community of 50,000 students and 7,000 faculty and staff, as well as 190,000 alumni worldwide. York’s 10 faculties and 22 research centres conduct ambitious, groundbreaking research that is interdisciplinary, cutting across traditional academic boundaries. This distinctive and collaborative approach is preparing students for the future and bringing fresh insights and solutions to real-world challenges. York University is an autonomous, not-for-profit corporation.
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For more information, contact:
Mary Ann Gratton, Media Relations, York University, 416-736-2100 x22091/gratton@yorku.ca
Kim Shadlock, Manager, Nursing Resource Centre, York University, 416-736-2100 x21025
Lesley Beagrie, Director, School of Nursing, York University, 416-736-5271 or 416-736-2100 x33345
