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Students of the Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing have access to two locations for skills training and immersive simulations. The Charles F. & Peggy Evans Center for Caring Skills within the NHWSN building and the Wesley Woods Graduate Simulation and Skills Facility within the Emory University Hospital at Wesley Woods.
The Evans Center is predominantly used for undergraduate student experiences. Four open-ward rooms facilitate students working in small groups to learn basic nursing skills and physical assessment techniques. When these activities are not taking place, the rooms are set up for various immersive simulations, many of which incorporate multiple simulated patients; and a combination of simulators and task trainers the met learning objectives of the course for that day. A variety of human patient simulator manikins of varying gender, ethnicity, ages, and technological capabilities are used to provide students with a range of educational experiences.
The Wesley Woods Graduate Simulation and Skills Facility includes an outpatient clinic space with fully functional clinic-style patient examination rooms, a flexible classroom space with four simulated patient bays, and several small meeting rooms. The exam rooms are mostly used for teaching advanced assessment of both adults and children using standardized patients and guided teaching models for simulations and invasive assessment procedures, such as pelvic examinations. The classroom space is used for teaching advanced skills training of invasive procedures, such as intubation and central line insertion. There is a space set-up as an operating room for the nurse anesthesia program. Various types of simulators and task trainers are used for training.
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School of Nursing faculty are active in efforts to improve simulation education, research, and practice. Learn more about a handful of these studies.
An Innovative Educational Approach Integrating Simulation, Classroom, and Clinical Practice for Teaching Pediatric Nursing
Through the use of simulation, classroom lecture was matched with simulated patient scenarios. Concurrent with simulation, the instructors teaching students in the practice setting review the simulation materials for each week. In this way, clinical practice assignments are matched with simulation scenarios and lecture content.
Comparison of Virtual Simulation to Clinical Practice for Pre-licensure Nursing Students in Pediatrics
The COVID-19 (coronavirus disease) pandemic has required a transition from in-person clinical practice to virtual. This study compares the standardized assessment test scores of pre-licensure nursing students who completed their pediatric clinical practicum in person for both the clinical and simulation practice settings versus virtually.
Assessing baccalaureate nursing students’ knowledge and attitudes of social determinants of health after a health equity simulation
For nursing students, competency in population health management involves acquiring knowledge and forming attitudes about the impact of the social determinants of health (SDoH) on health equity. The purpose of this pilot study was to assess nursing students’ knowledge and attitudes about the SDoH and health equity following a focused simulation activity.
Use of an Emergency Preparedness Disaster Simulation With Undergraduate Nursing Students
This is a report of an educational strategy to prepare nursing students to respond to disasters. The strategy includes an emergency preparedness disaster simulation (EPDS) implemented in a school of nursing simulation lab using patient simulators, task trainer mannequins, and live actors.The EPDS immerses student groups into a “tornado ravaged assisted‐living facility” where the principles of emergency preparedness can be employed.
Since 1905, the Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing (NHWSN) has evolved from a small training program in a fifty-bed hospital to an internationally renowned school that now enrolls more than 1,000 baccalaureate, masters, and doctoral students each year.
NHWSN is expanding its footprint and renovating 70,000 square feet in Decatur, Ga. to become the Emory Nursing Learning Center. The $20.6M expansion will include a state-of-the-art simulation and skills lab, which will provide experiential and immersive learning for students, and the Emory Nursing Experience, a program for continuing professional education in partnership with Emory Healthcare Nursing.
Support for this project will help ensure that NHWSN remains a leader in nursing education.
“Our vision for the Emory Nursing Learning Center is to help meet the complex, chaotic, and quickly changing needs of patients, families, clinical settings, and health care systems that rely on nurses who can make fast-but-effective decisions, contribute to teams, communicate well and mitigate errors,” Dean Linda McCauley said. “I’m very excited to see this cutting-edge facility take shape and expand our services beyond campus and traditional sites.”
Dr. Beth Ann Swan is a Professor, Clinical Track, Associate Dean and Vice President for Academic Practice Partnerships, and Executive Director of the Emory Learning Nursing Center at the Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing, Emory University. Dr. Swan is a fellow of the American Academy of Nursing, past president of the American Academy of Ambulatory Care Nursing (AAACN), and a Robert Wood Johnson Executive Nurse Fellow. She is nationally and internationally known for her research in health care and nursing. She was an early leader in exploring the impact of changing health care delivery models on outcomes of care and has been a continuous advocate for the promotion of promoting ambulatory and primary care. Read more about Dr. Swan here.
Mena Khan is the Operations Director for the Emory Nursing Learning Center. She is a graduate of UC San Diego where she completed her undergraduate degree and Ross University School of Medicine where she earned her medical degree. She has been a simulation educator and leader both at Ross University in the West Indies, where she taught medical simulation in the Department of Clinical Medicine and Central Michigan University (CMU) School of Medicine. Dr. Khan comes to Atlanta after having spent the last four years at CMU as the Assistant Director of Medical Simulation. Here, she and her Director successfully achieved accreditation of their two centers in 2019. She also works with the Society for Simulation in Healthcare where she has been a site visitor for the accreditation process for the last two years. She is the Co-Editor in Chief of the Healthcare in Simulation section of the online journal StatPearls. Mena is a Northern California native, who's lived both nationally and internationally. She adores traveling off the beaten path and novel cultural experiences. Having been born in Europe to South Asian parents who then immigrated to the US, she values diversity and differences. She is excited to now call Atlanta home and looks forward to working with the Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing and the Emory Nursing Learning Center.
Kim Fugate is the Simulation Operations Specialist for the Emory University Nursing Learning Center. In this role, Kim partners with Simulation Technicians, Simulation Nurse Educators, and faculty to develop, implement, operate, and participate in simulation activities to guarantee a high quality, safe, and consistent simulation experience in the ENLC. Kim assists in the management of the infrastructure to ensure student privacy, operational efficiency, limited downtime, and that learning objectives are met. She troubleshoots and resolves any technical and logistical issues; operates simulation capture system to ensure activities are videotaped. Provides first level repairs and preventative maintenance to simulation resources; ensures equipment and supplies are used and maintained properly. Plans, develops, and manufactures materials and techniques for executing moulage and task trainers in collaboration with key players to enhance the overall realism of the simulation activity.
Kim has been working in simulation for over 18 years at Emory University. Originally working with the Dept of Surgery E*STAR lab before moving to the School of Medicine Simulation lab where she served as Associate Director of ExCEL for the last 14 years. She is a Certified Healthcare Simulation Educator (CHSE) and a Certified Healthcare Simulation Operations Specialist (CHSOS) and is a member of the Society for Simulation in Healthcare. She is also an AHA certified instructor in both BLS and ACLS.
Sandra Rosedale comes to the Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing at Emory University with over 40 years of nursing experience. She has held a variety of roles in home care, inpatient, long-term care, assisted living and academia. Sandra is a Geriatric Clinical Nurse specialist and has always had a passion for working with the elderly. She received her BSN and MSN degrees from the University of California, San Francisco. During her academic career she has taught Fundamentals, Health Assessment, Patho/Pharmacology, Med Surg 1 and 2, Community Health, Aging Adult, and Leadership. Most of the courses had a lab component that also involved simulation. Sandra has over 15 years of simulation experience and finds it rewarding and a great safe place for the students to practice their nursing skills.
Sandra is originally from the upper Peninsula of Michigan. She has lived in Michigan, California, Tennessee, Florida, and Georgia. She has two sons and three grandchildren.
Maredith Nasrallah is a Nurse Educator for the Emory University Nursing Learning Center. She joins the center with over 10 years of clinical experience in a variety of clinical settings including: inpatient, critical care, outpatient, and ambulatory care settings. Her specialties include neurology, neurosurgery, gastroenterology, critical care, and primary care. She is a Certified Family Nurse Practitioner with an MSN from Georgia State University and BSN from Johns Hopkins School of Nursing. She has additionally earned a Bachelor of Science in Education from Vanderbilt University Peabody School of Education and a MSc in International Public Health Policy (Global Health) from Edinburgh University in Scotland. She has been certified as a Critical Care RN with the American Association of Critical Care Nurses as well as a Stroke Certified RN with the American Board of Neuroscience Nurses. She is a current member of Sigma Theta Tau Honor Society of Nursing, the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners, and the Society of Simulation in Healthcare. She has been awarded grants for her work in infection prevention from the American Association of Critical Care Nurses as well as a Clinical Transitional Science Award in Healthcare Innovation. Maredith is delighted to begin her career in healthcare simulation education and is currently working towards her certification as a healthcare simulation educator. She strives to create multifaceted and realistic simulation experiences that are both fun and memorable for Emory nursing students.
Valencia King is a Simulation Technician for the Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing at Emory University. She graduated from a Practical Nursing program and completed her associate degree in General Studies. Currently, she is pursuing her bachelor’s degree in Business Administration with a Healthcare Management concentration. She has over 15 years of experience in healthcare recently relocating from Pennsylvania. Valencia has worked in healthcare simulation for over seven years in both hospital and academic settings. She has experience with overseeing the daily operations of a simulation center including a Standardized Patient program.
In her role at the Emory Nursing Learning Center, she works with faculty and staff to prepare simulation experiences for clinical courses, operates simulation equipment, monitors inventory, and provides general maintenance of equipment and learning space.
Kevin Paproski is a simulation technician for the Emory Nursing Learning Center. He earned his Bachelor of Science in Health Services at Augusta University. His coursework gave him an overview of the U.S. healthcare system and provided the knowledge and skill development in healthcare delivery, leadership, cultural competency, bioethics, research and innovation. While at Augusta University, he completed a three-year internship at the Interdisciplinary Simulation Center. During his time at the center, he refined his interprofessional skills and technical knowledge of healthcare simulation as well as inventory management. The belief that simulation not only improves the skills and knowledge of students, but the quality of care that patients will receive is what drives Kevin to provide excellent service.
Recreating reality in simulation spaces
More dynamic simulation technology as we know it today came from the airline industry. Pilots once sat in cardboard boxes to learn how to fly a plane safely but now they practice in high-tech cockpits fitted with virtually all the same controls as the real thing.
