As enrollment in Oklahoma Christian University’s nursing program continues to grow, the training technology available to students is also increasing.
Construction on a 7,000-square-foot clinical simulation center is set to be completed next month and be available for student use beginning in the fall 2019 semester, according to Dean of the College of Natural and Health Sciences Jeff McCormack. The project was made possible through a $1 million gift provided by an unnamed donor.
Designed to look and feel like a hospital wing, the complex will feature three high-fidelity mannequins who mechanically breathe, blink and produce a heart rate, as well as a simulation birthing station. One-way mirrors will allow professors and students to observe operations being performed on the mannequins in real time.
The technology has already proven successful at other universities and has been approved by the Oklahoma Board of Nursing, McCormack said.
“Studies have demonstrated that this is a very effective way of learning, because it’s a safe learning environment for them [nursing students] in their clinicals,” McCormack said. “The other really important thing to know is the Oklahoma Board of Nursing has allowed us to use up to 30 percent of the clinical training hours in this environment. It used to be 100 percent of the training had to be done in hospitals.”
Prior to entering the simulation facility, students will meet with professors in a small debriefing room to discuss the clinical procedures to be performed. High-definition cameras will capture and archive footage of students performing the operations, allowing professors to accurately assess progress and identify mistakes.
“This will allow students and professors to evaluate what went right, what went wrong, that sort of thing,” McCormack said.
The nursing program expects to graduate 55 students in 2020, up from 21 in 2014, McCormack said. Eleven percent of all current undergraduate students are declared as nursing majors.
McCormack said the addition of the clinical simulation center will ensure every student receives an adequate amount of training prior to graduation.
“This [clinical simulation center] helps us tremendously because we have control over it,” McCormack said. “We know it’s a really good learning experience, and we don’t have to find hospitals to send our students to as our program continues to grow.”
The current simulation area, which houses one high-fidelity and several low-fidelity mannequins, will be renovated to exclusively house faculty offices. The nursing department expects to hire three new faculty members to match student demand for the major, McCormack said.
With the addition of the simulation center, nursing program classrooms, offices and training areas will soon occupy the majority of the two-story Heritage Plaza building, a space once left largely vacant as recently as five years ago. Through the Thrive campaign, more than $700,000 was raised from 2014 to 2017 to construct dedicated nursing classrooms and offices on the first floor of the building.
After arriving at Oklahoma Christian in 2014, McCormack said he envisioned the nursing program expanding and growing in Heritage Plaza.
“The faculty offices used to be over where the Student Government Association is now, and the classes were kind of spread around campus,” McCormack said. “There was no home for the fastest growing degree program on campus. I told the president when I came here, ‘You know, in Oklahoma, the first person to the land that drives a stake in it gets it.’ And I said I’m driving a stake in this land.”
As the number of nursing majors increases on the Oklahoma Christian campus, the demand for nursing jobs is also increasing nationally. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the job outlook for nurses will increase 15 percent by 2026.
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