Georgia College opens state of the art Simulation Center to train nursing, healthcare students

Nursing students practice life-saving techniques using a simulation manikin. (Photo: Gil Pound)

By Gil Pound

A new Georgia College & State University facility is giving School of Nursing and other College of Health Sciences students more hands-on learning experiences.

The expanded Simulation and Translational Research Center, or Sim Center, opened this fall and a ribbon-cutting ceremony was held Sept. 18.

Formerly housed inside a 6,000-square-foot unit at the local hospital, the Sim Center was moved to a newly renovated 13,000-square-foot space at 154 Roberson Mill Road in Milledgeville to meet a rapidly increasing need to provide students with more simulated clinical hours. Georgia College invested $633,000 into equipping the building to imitate both hospital and doctor's office settings with a rapid renovation turnaround time of only five months.

Nine high fidelity suites - two more than the Sim Center's previous location - include hospital beds and robotic manikins that help future nurses prepare for seeing real patients. An array of simulation technology, simulated medical devices and standardized participants - actors trained to serve in patient roles - provide students with over 27,000 total contact hours of simulation experiences annually.

"We look forward to continuing to pursue our goal of producing well-versed and real-world-ready health care leaders for our state and beyond," said Georgia College President Cathy Cox. "The Georgia College Simulation and Translational Research Center stands both as a symbol of collaboration and an exciting investment in the future of health care education in Georgia."

Other features of the new Sim Center include classrooms, a large conference area, an OSHA-compliant wet/suture lab and an obstetrical suite where the manikin mother simulates birth.

Together with the GCSU Skills Acquisition Lab, the Sim Center is accredited through the Society for Simulation in Healthcare, making it one of only two facilities within the University System of Georgia to own such accreditation.

"This center represents more than just brick and technology," said Dr. Shawn Little, vice chancellor of healthcare education for the University System of Georgia. "It represents our advancing health care needs and what our students need to be successful. This building is an investment not only in the community and the institution, but a commitment to our students and our patients."

Clocking In

Students don't just report to class at the Sim Center - they clock in and immerse themselves into the environment.

"Students function independently as if they were a working professional," said Dr. Sterling Roberts, Georgia College Sim Center executive director and associate professor of nursing. "We as faculty expose them to scenarios that are considered high risk, low volume patient situations so they can learn what to do in a controlled environment before facing the real thing. One of our main focuses is on those essential, life-saving events such as cardiac arrest, pulmonary embolism and shoulder dystocia."

Students also get to work with standardized patients, actors trained to serve in patient roles. (Photo: Gil Pound)

The nursing students see to their "patients," whether they be the standardized participants or high-fidelity manikins that mimic body responses to include gastrointestinal sounds, heart and lung sounds, pulse points and reactive pupils. Students examine the patient while faculty administer the simulation from on-site control rooms. Scenarios can be tailored based on the type of lesson faculty want to teach.

Nursing students in Dr. Marshall Smith's Adult Health II class recently saw to a manikin patient that underwent a major surgery four days prior and was experiencing shortness of breath.

"Their job was to treat that situation and help him with symptom management as well as collaborate with the care team to figure out what was causing the problem," said Smith, a GCSU assistant professor of nursing.

Students say the exercises put them in the driver's seat and help them better communicate, prioritize and determine the best course of action.

"Seeing these things happen right before your eyes is completely different from learning about it in class," said Sarah Charney, a senior from Augusta. "You're the one in charge trying to piece the puzzle together and figure out what your next steps are."

Faculty members debrief with students once an exercise is complete, providing valuable feedback that will aid them the next time - whether that be in the Sim Center or in the field.

Simulation Education Certified

The Sim Center isn't just able to train nurses and health care providers. It's presence at Georgia College also allows the university to offer a Healthcare Simulation Certificate program for other educators wanting to work in the growing health care simulation field.

Roberts designed the one-year, graduate-level online certificate program. Once per month, students attend Friday morning classes synchronously online and meet simulation clinical hour requirements at the GCSU Sim Center or other simulation facilities throughout the southeast.

Header Images: The new, larger Sim Center opened this semester in a renovated 13,000-square-foot building on Roberson Mill Road. A ribbon cutting ceremony took place Sept. 18. (Photos by Anna Gay Leavitt and Gil Pound)