Open House Slated on November 12 for Nursing Simulation Lab at Naugatuck Valley Community College

Waterbury, Conn. – A demonstration of the capabilities of a new nursing simulation laboratory, located within the allied health, nursing and physical education suite at Naugatuck Valley Community College, is set for Wednesday, November 12 from 4 to 6 p.m. in Room E633, Ekstrom Hall on the College’s campus located at 750 Chase Parkway, Waterbury.

The “sim lab” features state-of-the-art technology that allows nursing students practical experience on a “patient” that reacts to external stimuli and responds to those stimuli as would an actual patient. Real patient beds are occupied by a life-like Laerdal Sim-Man®, a manikin that can breathe, has a heartbeat and utilizes models of physiology and pharmacology to portray accurate representation of human responses. The manikin is connected to a patient monitor and audio-visual recording device, both of which are manipulated by an instructor from inside a high-tech control room. As nursing students respond to the Sim-Man in different patient scenarios, live feeds can be simultaneously broadcast to wired classrooms in the building allowing all students to participate remotely with their instructor.

“This is a way for us to efficiently and effectively educate nursing students to be critical thinkers,” said Joanne Ottman, MSN, director of allied health, nursing and physical education at the College. “The body of knowledge has grown exponentially and this gives our students real experience and builds confidence before they enter a true clinical setting.”

The NVCC Sim Lab is equipped with two Sim-Man® patients – one adult and one pediatric that offer up real patient-care scenarios to challenge students' clinical and decision-making skills. The simulators react to CPR, defibrillation, tracheal intubation, ventilation and a variety of other interventions. Instructors are given the ability to design different patient scenarios based on a case study and program the Sim-Man to respond accordingly. From behind a double-sided mirror, they prompt patient reactions that correspond to the students’ treatment. 

The simulations last about twenty minutes and allow for five students to work together at the bedside treating the patient.  The high quality digital recordings are complete with timelines for accurate appraisals and debriefing throughout the semester.  Through these critical elements, students learn to interpret symptoms, evaluate patients and perform critical tasks under real clinical conditions and time limits. The combination of these complex simulators and other realistic medical scenarios demonstrated in 7 other high-tech classrooms in the nursing, allied health and physical education division provides a credible clinical training environment for future nurses.

(Attendance at the open house is by invitation only. Members of the media are invited.)