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Nursing students at West Virginia Northern Community College have a new tool in learning their trade, a lab that offers training so realistic, it’s almost as if there are real people laying in the beds.

Those are mannequins in those beds, but with the technology available in these new nursing simulation labs, students feel like they’re working with flesh-and-blood patients. WVNCC unveiled the new labs Tuesday morning, the culmination of upgrades funded by a $1 million Nursing Workforce Expansion Program grand awarded through Gov. Jim Justice’s office.

“This is extremely important to us,” said Bonnie Peterman, chair of the college’s allied health division. “This lets the students interact and have a lot of critical thinking. Therefore, they’re a lot more prepared when they take their boards, and when they do get a job and face a patient with those needs, they’ve already seen them here.”

The lab consists of four patient rooms with three adult mannequins, one child mannequin and one infant mannequin. Each high-fidelity computerized mannequin simulates real medical scenarios, including breath and heart sounds, display EKG, blood pressure and other readings. If a student shines a light in a mannequin’s eye, the pupil will expand and contract. Students also can administer IVs, give injections and perform other invasive procedures.

Instructors can sit in the lab’s control room and adjust each mannequin’s vital signs to simulate different medical conditions. They can also talk through a microphone and their voice will come through a speaker in the mannequin’s mouth. That way, nursing students can have a conversation with the patient just as they would in a real hospital setting.

Second-year nursing student Rebecca Wise said these hands-on simulations are a game-changer for her and her fellow students. It gives them the opportunity to experience real-life scenarios before they hit the hospital floor full-time.

“I like this so much because I can come in here and practice safely and learn about emergencies and other situations,” she said. “I can come in here (the mannequin) can do everything I need him to do and I’m still learning the process. It’s wonderful.”

SImilar upgrades have also been completed at WVNCC’s Weirton and New Martinsville campuses.

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