County college welcomes new 'student'

[cougarnurse]

This is awesome! Guess this is the next big thing: County college welcomes new 'patient' to nursing program

There is a new patient in the nursing lab at Warren County Community College.

The Meti Emergency Care Simulator (ECS), named "Warren", was recently acquired thanks to a grant initiated by LaMont Rouse, director of the college's Division of Grant Research and Alumni Affairs.

The ECS allows nursing instructors to simulate a real-life emergency care scenario. The state-of-the-art simulator is also used by the military and various fields of medicine.

"It is as close to real as you can humanly get," said Jenn Spencer, the WCCC nursing lab coordinator. The simulator can have a heart attack, seizure or hemorrhage due to trauma, just to name a few scenarios."

"Warren" uses the same type of medical monitoring equipment that a real patient will require. This allows the simulation to be as realistic as possible for the students.

"It's really an incredible piece of equipment," noted Joan Pollner, director of nurse education at WCCC. "In almost every aspect possible, it is human!"
In a recent simulation lab where "Warren" experienced a heart attack, nursing students monitored his vitals using a real wave form display while the nursing instructor guided the scenario. When the patient went into cardiac arrest, the students moved quickly to save him.

"This technology simply was not available just a few years ago," said Pollner. "Our students are able to take advantage of this technology so that they can be better prepared for the future."

For more information about the nursing program at WCCC and any of the college's degree and non-degree programs, visit www.warren.edu.