New ASU Nursing Lab

ASU Nursing students will practice in a safe environment and learn from their mistakes. Their new laboratory has a simulated ER, ICU, Neonatal, and Delivery Room. Justin says "simulation is the new thing in nursing education. It comes from aviation education where you can come into a setting like we have here and simulate whatever they see in the hospital." The simulated patients have a respiratory system controlled by computer and veins which allow the students to draw blood. Simulated Baby wiggles and the lips turn blue upon oxygen deprivation. Justin says "students can do an I.V., draw blood, give any type of medication. If we program the heart rate to drop, you can do a defibrillator and shock the baby and get the readouts." Student debriefing from computer monitoring is an important learning tool in the clinical setting. ASU Nursing students will learn the full birthing process on a simulated Mom and baby. Justin says " in the labor and delivery room we have the maternal simulator for regular or breech birth, a regular delivery or a full term delivery. It can be from two minutes to six hours, so you can change things up." The newborn baby may turn blue and require the student to perform chest compression with a bag. Practicing physicians have been consulted to make the lab more realistic. Justin says "the instructor can make the mannequin talk through preset vocal patterns or the instructor can talk on the microphone and have conversation with the student. The Mom during birth will have labor type noises." Students will begin using the new lab in August when fall classes start. Mike Moritz, KLST News >>