West Virginia Northern Community College has received enough money from grants and other gifts to add new nursing simulation labs to its Weirton campus, adding on to its offerings at its New Martinsville and Wheeling campuses.
Students at West Virginia Northern Community College are seeing further preparations for their future thanks to new technology and new programs being implemented at the school.
Recently, the school’s Weirton campus revealed a new nursing simulation lab as part of its efforts to constantly increase its value to its students.
In an article from The Weirton Daily Times, West Virginia Northern Community College’s President Daniel Mossor, Ph.D. said, “It’s a great day to celebrate nursing training and education in Weirton.”
The funding for the new labs came from a $1 million Nursing Workforce Expansion Program Grant that was awarded by the state of West Virginia. Another $500,000 was gifted to the school through a smattering of other donations, according to Mossor.
The Chair of West Virginia Northern Community College’s allied health division, Bonnie Peterman, talked about the benefits nursing students will see from the addition of the new simulation labs, saying, “Students can practice real-life scenarios.” She noted that the simulation labs give students the opportunity to experience situations they would not normally be able to thanks to the use of programmable mannequins.
The Weirton campus will see a new lab that contains a control room and two simulation rooms. There will be a pediatric mannequin and an adult mannequin, as well as several depicting infants. Peterman noted that the mannequins have the capability to be programmed to display true to life vital signs and speak and respond to the students, as well as simulating a swath of medical conditions.
As the labs will allow for students to participate in close to real life experiences, they will be able to be prepared to join the workforce of the medical field. “It will help them to critically think a little faster and a little better,” Peterman said of the experiences to which students will have access.
West Virginia Northern Community College currently offers certified nursing assistant, patient care technician, and registered nurse degree programs. Mossor mentioned that in the coming fall semester, licensed practical nursing and medical laboratory technician tracks will be added. Mossor also noted that a respiratory therapy program that had once been offered at the school will be returning, as well.
“A lot is happening in healthcare at Northern,” he said.
The school offers similar labs at its New Martinsville and Wheeling campuses, as well.
More information about West Virginia Northern Community College can be found at the school’s website.