Trent Nursing Opens New Technologically-Advanced Clinical Simulation Learning Centre

New simulation facilities among several significant achievements being celebrated by the program during Nursing Week (May 12-18)

Monday, May 12, 2014, Peterborough, ON

In celebration of National Nursing Week, the Trent/Fleming School of Nursing will launch the new Nursing Clinical Simulation Learning Centre on Wednesday, May 14, at the Life and Health Sciences Building at Trent University.

The grand opening of the simulation lab is a fitting example of this year’s Nursing Week theme, “A Leading Force for Change”. The Clinical Simulation Learning Centre (CSLC) is the latest development in the Nursing program, and incorporates Trent’s new technological resources, expanding capabilities in nursing education, and increased interprofessional development opportunities.

“Simulation of real-life patient situations is an important part of nursing education, and creates a safe environment for nursing students to learn a variety of skills, including how to communicate with patients, and how to perform both basic and advanced nursing interventions,” said Meaghen Regts, clinical simulation centre coordinator, Trent-Fleming School of Nursing. “Our goal is to build the simulation learning facilities at Trent into a regional centre that can become a hub for innovative, hands-on learning for students and professionals across Ontario.”

The CSLC represents a new level of professional education and collaboration with other universities and health centres, particularly the School of Nursing’s partnerships with the Peterborough Regional Health Centre (PRHC) and the Peterborough County-City Health Unit (PCCHU). The simulation centre will use tools like high-fidelity mannequins and patient actors to simulate real-life health care events. These updated technologies and educational programs will function within the School of Nursing’s existing laboratories, and will ensure that students are fully educated in all of the skills, techniques, and critical reasoning required to be successful before they work with the general public or vulnerable populations.

"The Trent/Fleming School of Nursing is known for preparing excellent practitioners,” said Dr. Kirsten Woodend, dean of the School. “The expansion of our simulation program and space positions us to continue providing nursing students with the education, hands-on experience and insight that they will need in order to practice in a rapidly changing and increasingly challenging health care environment."

The use of simulations in nursing education has increased dramatically since 2005, when the Ontario Ministry of Health and Long Term Care announced funding to begin integrating simulation into nursing education. Since then, the Trent/Fleming School of Nursing has actively incorporated simulations into its program, going so far as to introduce simulations within the first term of nursing students’ first year.

The new simulation centre is just one example of cutting-edge programming, award-winning achievements and innovations that are taking place within the Trent/Fleming School of Nursing:

• The Trent/Fleming School of Nursing recently received the maximum accreditation level possible from the Canadian Association of Schools of Nursing 
• Two Trent nursing students, Sarah Dykeman and Hannah Silk, are Trent University’s first-ever recipients of Health Professional Student Research Vouchers from the Canadian Institute of Health Research (CIHR)
• Nursing students Scott Wight and Amanda Li won the inaugural Student E-Health Award at the Canadian Nursing Student Association Conference for developing a mobile website application that helps students deal with depression and other mental health disorders, with support from Professor Kim English
• The Community Living Peterborough Grant was established in 2013 to provide tuition and housing to two nursing students per year in return for serving as “intentional neighbours” to people who live with an intellectual disability in supportive, independent-living duplexes
• The Trent/Fleming School of Nursing accepted its first cohort of students in 2001, and has since grown to nearly 800 students. View a gallery of photos of the current nursing facilities at Trent in the new Life and Health Sciences building 
• In addition to offering a traditional B.ScN degree requiring 4 years of study, the Trent/Fleming School of Nursing now also offers a 7-semester program for students with previous university education and a 5-semester bridge program for Registered Practical Nurses to complete a B.ScN. Learn more about the programs offered.  

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