Montana State to host open house of nursing simulation lab on Sept. 18

BOZEMAN - Montana State University's Mark and Robyn Jones College of Nursing will celebrate Healthcare Simulation Week with an open house Wednesday, Sept. 18.

The college will open the simulation laboratory from 2 to 4 p.m. in Room 222 of Sherrick Hall on the MSU campus so that guests can see the facility and the equipment used to train future nurses, nurse practitioners and nurse-midwives. Simulations coordinator Joe Poole will be available to answer questions and conduct demonstrations.

During their upper division semesters in the traditional and accelerated Bachelor of Nursing program, all MSU nursing students participate in 28 carefully designed simulations, according to nursing administrators. Some incorporate high-tech manikins, while others involve paid actors. Each simulation addresses either the common challenges faced when providing health care, such as de-escalation of families and patients in emotionally fraught situations, or uncommon emergencies, like a hemorrhage immediately following the delivery of an infant.

Simulations bridge the gap between classroom learning and working with real patients in a clinical setting, allowing students to gain experience and build confidence in what are often stressful situations, according to Poole.

"Simulations are an integral part of our curriculum and provide an immersive experience, which creates longer lasting emotionalized knowledge, or knowledge embedded within the emotional experience of the situation, than a PowerPoint presentation or lecture," Poole said. "This open house is a great opportunity for future students and university and community partners to see our facilities, ask questions and gain a better understanding of how the MSU nursing program operates."

Healthcare Simulation Week, which runs Sept. 16-20, is promoted internationally by the nonprofit Society for Simulation in Healthcare.

MSU's Mark and Robyn Jones College of Nursing is the largest producer of registered nurses in Montana, with more than half of all newly licensed Montana nurses graduating from MSU. About 80% of MSU nursing graduates remain in the state after finishing their degrees to serve Montanans.

The college hosts the state's only doctoral nursing program educating nurse practitioners, and it opened a nurse-midwifery option this fall to help fulfill the college's mission of providing care to all residents in the state, especially those in rural, frontier and Native communities. The college has five campuses, located in Billings, Bozeman, Great Falls, Kalispell and Missoula.