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 pre-nursing anatomy and physiology labs and for advanced skills training of invasive procedures, such as intubation and central line insertion. Various types of simulators and task trainers are used for training.
These links are for faculty and staff only.
- Beth Ann Swan, Executive Director, beth.ann.swan@emory.edu
- Laika Steiger, Interim Operations Director, laika.steiger@emory.edu
- Corey Dinkins, Lab Assistant, corey1906@emory.edu
- Destiny Wimbish, Senior Lab Assistant, destiny.a.wimbish@emory.edu
- Jametra Thomas, Lab Assistant, jametrathomas@emory.edu
- Laura LaCagnina, Lab Coordinator, llcagn@emory.edu
- Terrence Jenkins, Lab Technologist, terrence.jenkins2@emory.edu
We are renovating 70,000 square feet in Decatur, Ga. to become the new Emory Nursing Learning Center. The $20.6M expansion project will include state-of-the-art simulation and skills labs for experiential and immersive learning. The Emory Nursing Learning Center will also house the Emory Nursing Experience, our continuing professional education program in partnership with Emory Healthcare.
Simulation-based learning allows students to practice and master both basic and advanced clinical skills, techniques, and procedures. Through simulation, students learn to think critically in complex situations, communicate effectively with patients and health care teams, and manage rapidly changing situations in real-time.
The Simulation area with a labor and delivery suite, operating room, and three additional high-fidelity rooms will allow for multiple virtual care scenarios. Each room will be equipped with the most current technologies and human patient simulators.
A four-bed bay area will replicate a post-anesthesia care unit (PACU) for post-operative recovery, an infusion center for chemotherapy, a neonatal intensive care area, or a trauma bay.
The skills labs with 26 bed spaces will allow students to practice procedural skills and conduct complex patient scenarios using manikins or standardized patients (actors trained to play the role of a patient). Twelve exam rooms will simulate the outpatient setting and are designed to teach and evaluate students’ history taking, physical examination, and communication skills.