{"id":719,"date":"2019-07-17T18:18:43","date_gmt":"2019-07-17T18:18:43","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wcsu.wpengine.com\/news-archives\/nursescontributetobook\/"},"modified":"2019-07-17T18:18:43","modified_gmt":"2019-07-17T18:18:43","slug":"nursescontributetobook","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.wcsu.edu\/news-archives\/nursescontributetobook\/","title":{"rendered":"2014 WCSU nursing professors publish chapters in award-winning book"},"content":{"rendered":"
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WCSU nursing professors publish chapters in award-winning book <\/p>\n

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Educators share simulation experience in work honored by American Journal of Nursing <\/span>
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\"ImageDANBURY, CONN.<\/strong> \u2014 <\/span><\/span>Western Connecticut State University<\/a> nursing faculty members Dr. Catherine Rice,<\/a> Monica Sousa<\/a> and Linda Warren<\/a> are among the authors who published chapters in \u201cSimulation Scenarios for Nursing Educators: Making It Real,\u201d<\/a> recognized recently for its contributions to nursing instruction by the American Journal of Nursing (AJN).<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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\u201cSimulation Scenarios,\u201d co-edited and co-authored by Dr. Karen Daley and Dr. Suzanne Campbell, earned second place in the information technology and informatics category of the 2013 AJN Book of the Year Awards.<\/a> Dr. Pamela Jeffries, associate dean for academic affairs at the Johns Hopkins University School of Nursing, observed in her foreword that the updated and expanded second edition of the \u201cacclaimed book for nurse educators provides a practical, step-by-step guide to designing and developing simulation scenarios and integrating them into the nursing curriculum.\u201d <\/p>\n

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Both chapters by WCSU faculty members offer innovative scenarios designed to be used by nursing educators in planning their own simulation-based exercises for instruction. Rice, professor of nursing, is the author of \u201cTune Into Simulation Through Physical Examination\u201d; Sousa and Warren, assistant professors of nursing, are the coauthors of \u201cAcute Management of Respiratory Distress in an Adult Patient.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\u201cMy chapter was developed to provide educators with a thorough understanding and practical blueprints to begin the exploration of simulation scenarios in the laboratory,\u201d Rice observed. \u201cThese templates provide educators with \u2018ready to use\u2019 scenarios that serve to support student learning.\u201d<\/p>\n

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The chapter co-authored by Warren and Sousa draws from the extensive experience that both authors have gained as nursing professionals at Connecticut hospitals. Warren, who joined the WCSU faculty in 2009, has been a registered nurse (RN) for more than 40 years, with extensive experience in critical care as well as in cardiothoracic nursing as a certified critical care nurse (CCRN). Sousa has worked as an RN for 10 years and as a clinical nurse specialist in adult health since 2010. She joined the WCSU nursing faculty four years ago.<\/p>\n

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Warren observed that their chapter\u2019s presentation of simulation scenarios for a case of adult respiratory distress focuses on a very common situation that most nurses will encounter in real-life practice. \u201cOur scenario provides the medical history of the patient and takes the student through the case assessment and different strategies for treatment using various technologies and medications,\u201d she said. \u201cIt is especially helpful in sharpening students\u2019 assessment skills to focus on the big picture, and not just look at one element of the case in isolation.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Sousa said the scenario also is designed to \u201cmake sure students are listening carefully to the case report and picking up on the key information that tells them why that patient is going through respiratory distress.\u201d Rapid and accurate assessment of respiratory complaints is critical to ensuring that the patient\u2019s condition is stabilized before vital signs begin to deteriorate, she noted.<\/p>\n

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Daley\u2019s role as co-editor and co-author of \u201cSimulation Scenarios\u201d provides a further connection with WCSU\u2019s experience in integrating simulation exercises within the nursing curriculum. Daley helped to advance simulation technology at Western<\/a> as a WCSU nursing faculty member from 2001 until she left in 2011 to become dean of the College of Health Professions at Davenport University in Grand Rapids, Mich. WCSU acquired its first SimMan patient simulator nearly a decade ago, and now offers three SimMan units at Midtown campus laboratories where nursing students learn through simulation exercises custom-designed by WCSU faculty. <\/p>\n

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\u201cSimulation is one of the important ways that nurse educators can train students in a safe and controlled setting,\u201d Sousa remarked. \u201cSimulation helps students to think through the assessment of the case presented, and it is OK if they make a mistake. Students become less nervous and more confident so that, when they provide care at the bedside of a real patient, they will make the right decisions.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Warren has found that simulation exercises provide a useful and necessary complement to classroom instruction as well as the hands-on experience that students receive in her Clinical Nursing Practice class during nine-hour weekly assignments in the ICU at Waterbury Hospital and the telemetry units at Danbury and Waterbury hospitals. The opportunity to work directly with nurses and patients on the floor \u2014 and in critical care, an area where WCSU offers practical experience that other Connecticut nursing programs cannot match \u2014 offers a \u201crealistic clinical experience\u201d covering a broad range of subjects from cardiac monitoring and respiratory issues to medications and dressing changes, she said. Simulation has an equally important role to play in gaining practical experience because it enables the instructor to replicate medical conditions that may not be present during students\u2019 clinical assignments, she added.<\/p>\n

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\u201cI can\u2019t predict the patient population during clinical visits, so our students\u2019 experiences are going to vary depending on the kind of patients they encounter,\u201d Warren said. \u201cWith simulation, we can provide the same experience for all our students and structure a controlled scenario for care of a cardiac or pulmonary patient in a non-threatening learning environment. If they are later presented with a similar situation in real life, they can take these learned strategies to provide effective care for the patient.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Sousa, who earned her bachelor\u2019s and master\u2019s degrees in nursing at WCSU, observed that the introduction of SimMan technology enables students \u201cto feel and touch and hear\u201d patient symptoms presented in a realistic simulation, teaching them important skills to work collaboratively as a team to determine effective measures for intervention. In the decade since the arrival of the first SimMan on campus during her senior year, she has found that today\u2019s student applicants for admission to the nursing program have come to expect that simulation will be offered as part of their learning experience at Western.<\/p>\n

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Sousa described simulation as one aspect of a comprehensive nursing education at WCSU that draws upon the strengths of faculty members active in the nursing profession and current on the best practices in nursing care and education. \u201cNursing is very stressful and our program is very rigorous, so we do our best to make it possible for our students to learn and succeed,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

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For more information, contact the Office of University Relations at (203) 837-8486.<\/p>\n

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Western Connecticut State University offers outstanding faculty in a range of quality academic programs. Our diverse university community provides students an enriching and supportive environment that takes advantage of the unique cultural offerings of Western Connecticut and New York. Our vision: To be an affordable public university with the characteristics of New England\u2019s best small private universities. <\/em><\/p>\n

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