NMC upgrades nursing and health teaching technology

 The CNMI Area Health Education Center at the Northern Marianas College recently upgraded learning and teaching technology for the college’s Nursing department with interactive manikins, which are anatomical models of the human body used for educational purposes.

These manikins made by Laerdal Medical Corporation in New York, are designed to provide realistic simulations of different individuals in order to teach important skills necessary to properly assess and appropriately administer medical care in various scenarios.

“We are extremely happy and excited to begin using these manikins to teach our students important skills they will need in the nursing profession,” said NMC Nursing department chair Rosa M. Tudela. “More experience and more practice means that they will be better prepared when they enter the workforce.”

The manikins, housed at the NMC Nursing department, include an adult manikin designed for teaching advanced life saving skills in emergency situations outside of a hospital setting and another adult female manikin designed to simulate a variety of hospital patients, as well as to provide clinical training in the area of women’s health.

In addition to adult manikins, the department received a baby and a 6-year-old child manikin for teaching skills and techniques specific to pediatric clients.

Before the manikins could be utilized at NMC, Tudela and NMC nursing instructors Johnny S. Aldan and John W. Cox participated in the Teaching and Learning Faculty Development Institute hosted in Chuuk to acquire extensive training on the fundamentals of simulation education. The training was taught by Dr. Lorrie Wong and Dr. Kristine Qureshi from the University of Hawaii’s School of Nursing and Dental Hygiene, and was sponsored by Partners Investing in Nursing’s Future, a grant made possible through the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Northwest Health Foundation.

Following the training in Chuuk, Cox went on to obtain additional training on advanced-level simulation manikins at the University of Guam.

Laerdal Medical Corp. educational services specialist Kelly McKeever and trainer Pam McKreever recently visited the Nursing Department to assemble the manikins, and to provide specific instruction on how to properly operate and care for the manikins.

“Besides enhancing nursing instruction at the college, we are now able to serve more health professionals through our CNMI Area Health Education Center at NMC,” said David Attao, acting dean of Community Programs and Services.

“We are hoping to offer more training opportunities to meet the health education needs of the community, as well as to other agencies like private clinics, EMS and anyone else involved in providing medical services to people in the CNMI,” said NMC Community Development Institute program manager Les Ogumoro-Uludong.

The simulation manikins and related trainings were made possible through a grant from the Equipment to Enhance Training for Health Professionals Project under the Hawai’i/Pacific Basin Area Health Education Center, which the CNMI AHEC program is a sub-recipient. The CNMI AHEC is a program under NMC COMPASS’ Community Development Institute that aims to improve the health of people in the CNMI through education. (NMC)