Education
Clinical education: simulation
In teaching and learning
The CLC affords our students the opportunity to learn skills and clinical judgment necessary for a career in nursing. Integrated throughout the curriculum, simulated clinical experiences allow students to critically think through situations in a controlled, safe environment. The opportunity to prepare, experience, and debrief on these learning endeavors provides a unique educational experience traditional lectures cannot.
From the outset of the pre-licensure program, our students are introduced to clinical simulation. The experiences progress in conjunction with the didactic portion of learning, reinforcing the information and translating it to real world knowledge. Technical skills are not the sole focus of these simulations. Communication, teamwork, and the nursing process are interwoven as well.
The Master’s program incorporates clinical simulation across all of the specialty areas. On a given day, our acute care nurse practitioner students will be learning the technical skill of inserting a central venous catheter while administration and leadership students are diffusing a hostile situation. The CLC provides the optimal environment for this type of learning.
In research
The Clinical Learning Center has been and is becoming a center for research in nursing education and clinical based investigations. Our faculty is actively exploring the use of clinical simulations in nursing education from implementation to debriefing and how to attain a better learning experience for our students. Our nurse researchers also use the CLC when applicable for their research studies.
In service
The CLC strives to meet the mission of School through community outreach and multidisciplinary collaboration. Programs through the Cosby High School Health Sciences Specialty Center and the Virginia Governor’s School for Life Sciences and Medicine introduce students to the profession and the wide range of opportunities within the field of nursing. In partnership with the Virginia Department of Health, the CLC has provided training for community HIV testing.
Multidisciplinary collaboration is of growing importance in modern healthcare for the safety of individual patients and the community as a whole. The Schools of Medicine, Pharmacy, Physical Therapy, and Social Work have utilized the CLC for student education. It provides an opportunity for the health care providers of tomorrow to work as a team to care for patients.
