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NMC nursing students get new simulation equipment
Marianas High School student Mackenzie Perez submitted the winning entry in the 2016 Liberation Day Online Photo contest. (Mackenzie Perez)
Northern Marianas College nursing students and NMC staff gather around the new simulation headwall that is used for training purposes. (Contributed Photo)
As part of its efforts to enhance the training needs of the local health workforce, the CNMI Area Health Education Center (AHEC) recently purchased a simulation training headwall for the Northern Marianas College’s Nursing Department.
According to Rosa Tudela, NMC Nursing Department chairperson, the simulation headwall will serve as a starting point for creating a more realistic environment for nursing students to carry out simulation scenarios provided by faculty.
“We are grateful that the AHEC Program continues to help the college to expand its training facilities,” said David Attao, NMC interim president.
“Simulation curriculum is an important part of the courses at NMC, and the new simulation headwall will allow the students to conceptualize difficult concepts while practicing in a safe learning environment,” said Tudela.
Tudela added that the environment provided by a simulation laboratory has been shown to be truly valuable for students and an incomparable and safe way for instructors to evaluate whether students are able to apply theory to applied nursing care.
“We know that no amount of clinical training is too much and providing our students with the multitude of scenarios, opportunities, and repetition required is critical to ensure that exceptional practice is internalized,” said Tudela. “We want our students to demonstrate competency in nursing assessment, clinical nursing skills, communication, safe nursing care and the ability to function as part of the healthcare team.”
“Since we only have one general hospital which does not provide us all the opportunities our students need to see and experience, creating this environment will help bridge the potential gap in the knowledge and skills that result from differing opportunities available to our students on island,” Tudela added.
Back in September 2011, the NMC Nursing Program‘s skills laboratory was upgraded with interactive mannequins, which are anatomical models of the human body used for educational purposes.
The CNMI Area Health Education Center purchased two adult mannequins, one child manikin and one baby manikin, for the NMC Nursing Program. These manikins are used by students to practice basic nursing clinical skills such as physical assessments, insertion of nasogastric tubes, foley catheters, and intramuscular injections of certain medications to name a few.
The AHEC Program at the Northern Marianas College is led by Queanna Sablan, CNMI AHEC Program manager, and Vince Merfalen, director of NMC’s Community Development Institute (CDI). (PR)
