Health students practice
Students check the blood pressure and pulse of a computerized “patient” in a Mobile Simulation Laboratory at South Columbus High.
By JOYCE GRAHAM
No patients were harmed as Health Occupations students at South Columbus High School landed a chance to practice their skills in a life-like setting, without leaving campus last Wednesday.
A Mobile Simulation Laboratory was brought to the Vinegar Hill campus by Coastal Carolinas Health Alliance, in partnership with McLeod Loris hospital, giving students hands-on experiences not normally available to them.
It proved to be a big hit with students of Shonna Gurkin, with life-like mannequins simulating a variety of health issues, challenging students to properly assess their “patients’” condition, and to suggest recommended treatments.
A number of scenarios are available in the mobile classroom, said Denise Garee, MSN, RN, CEN, PhD(c), Clinical Coordinator of the Mobile Simulation Laboratory. Even child delivery can be simulated in this mobile learning center.
Ken Buck, Media/Technology Director for the Columbus County Schools, worked with Garee to bring the unit to South Columbus.
“We will go where ever we can with this unit,” Garee said. “The learning materials and experiences provided by the unit are of tremendous benefit for students in the Health Occupation curriculum, and offer these high school students an added, and advanced, benefit to their education.”
A computerized process allows “patients” to cough, indicate discomfort, have a pulse and heartbeat that can be measured by students.
A “triage” room, where students can discuss the patient’s situation and appropriate treatment, is in the unit.
For more on the Mobile Simulation Laboratory, visit coastalalliance.org or call at 910-332-8018.
