Meet the Nursing Lab’s Newest Simulator: HAL

For the 40 years since the nursing program was started, Pensacola Christian College has been producing graduates that are in high demand and known for excellence and integrity. This rigorous program equips graduates to pass the NCLEX-RN examination on the first try and be fully prepared for a career. To ensure the best preparation for future nurses, PCC keeps current with technological advances and has recently added the latest high-fidelity patient, Gaumard HAL S5301, to the nursing lab simulator family.

Meet Our Newest Patient

In the nursing lab, HAL is reclined on a hospital-grade bed. When an instructor or student enters the room and turns the lights on, HAL's eyelids flutter open. One of the most noticeable advancements from an older model would be HAL's facial expressions. Previous simulators relied on prerecorded audio clips or an instructor speaking through a headset, the sound coming from a speaker with no mouth or facial movement from the simulator. "HAL is able to speak using artificial intelligence and has realistic facial and mouth movements, which adds a layer of realism that we have not previously had," shared Dr. Denise McCollim, dean of Arts and Sciences.

HAL responds when greeted and shakes hands. He can follow a pen light with his eyes, display lifelike seizures, sweat, shed tears, and more. And during assessments, he can state his name, share his symptoms, and explain why he's been admitted. Because his speech is powered by AI, his answers are sometimes unpredictable-which is consistent with a realistic patient experience.

"HAL is able to speak using artificial intelligence and has realistic facial and mouth movements, which adds a layer of realism that we have not previously had."

With this advanced technology, instructors set up and run patient scenarios and then debrief the students on their performance. "When we send them into simulation, we give them a report; they go in and function on the role of the nurse, and if they do it right or do it wrong, they're in an environment where they have complete independence to practice their skills and critical thinking," Dr. McCollim explained. "I think we'd all admit that some of our best lessons in life are when we made a mistake. And [in a simulation lab] you can allow them to make that mistake and see the consequences."

Simulating Real-Life Care

Over the past decades, students have practiced assessments on a collection of other simulators in the lab: METIMan, Newborn HAL, and others. This type of hands-on training has been a vital part of the clinical training that allows nursing students to practice and apply practical and critical thinking skills before working in a real hospital setting. "Simulation has been a long-standing part of our nursing program," said Dr. McCollim. "But it's the fact that we're introducing this cutting-edge, very high-tech simulator [that] raises the bar for what our students are able to do."

"We're supplementing clinical time, so they're getting this simulation experience in addition to [the] clinical experience they used to get."

Between their junior and senior years, a nursing student completes 950 hours in the clinical setting including 320 hours during a preceptorship. This puts them at almost twice the number of clinical hours that many schools offer, including hands-on instruction and one-on-one training-not just observing an instructor. PCC nursing students finish college with more hours of full-time, mentored hospital experience than most nurses have even after completing their new-hire orientation.

"Simulation allows us to give real-world experience that helps our students to not just hear concepts in the classroom but to apply them hands-on," explained Miss Heather Hartkopf, chair of Nursing. "[Simulation creates] a consistent student experience to make sure everybody gets to see various diagnoses and complications, and it helps prepare them because they get to see things that you hope you never see in real life. We're supplementing clinical time, so they're getting this simulation experience in addition to [the] clinical experience they used to get."

Incredible Benefit for Nursing Students

The Gaumard HAL S5301 has the technological capacity to allow students to simulate patient care at the highest level. When they graduate, nursing students will already know how to be a nurse and can focus on learning about the individual facility where they've been hired. "Their hands-on experience is that much more robust since they have done all of these assessments [simulated in our labs]," added Miss Hartkopf. "We often hear that our grads stand out because they graduate prepared for what they're doing."

"We often hear that our grads stand out because they graduate prepared for what they're doing."

Since the beginning, the PCC nursing program has maintained a focus on the Creator and value of life. "We offer a high-quality nursing education from a traditional Christian perspective," Miss Hartkopf noted. "The biblical worldview informs everything we do-whether the excellence of our academics or the high quality of technology support that we have."

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