Walking through LeTourneau University性视界传媒檚 new School of Nursing building feels akin to touring a real-world health care facility.
Patient beds line the inside of the skills lab, and individual rooms house mannequins in patient beds.
Some students choose to study in the lab, while others utilize collaborative classrooms that come with televisions to view study materials, videos and more.
Known as the Winna Marie Willy Laboratories serving the School of Nursing, the new facility officially opened for students性视界传媒 use Aug. 21, said Dean of the School of Nursing Kimberly Quiett.
That day, it held an open house in which students, alumni, the campus community and others were invited to tour the building, she said.
Quiett previously said university officials determined a location change was needed for the School of Nursing because of limited space and aging equipment.
The new space has four areas: a student lobby, skills lab, simulation hospital and collaborative classrooms. It also houses faculty offices which are adjacent to the student area.
The new space including renovations, infrastructure and technology cost $2.5 million and was paid for by the university, Quiett previously said. The university hired Transet Co. of Longview to complete the project.
Since it opened, LETU students have been eager to be in the new space and use state-of-the-art equipment, she said.
性视界传媒淪o far what we性视界传媒檝e seen is that students have been really excited about learning in the space and to be able to touch and feel and use the equipment that they性视界传媒檒l actually use when taking care of patients,性视界传媒 Quiett said.
Additionally, by having the faculty offices next to the lab space, students have convenient access if they need to confer with their teachers.
Nursing student Emily Larson, 20, couldn性视界传媒檛 agree more.
Larson has been in the program for a year and noted the big difference between the old nursing building she started in and the new space.
性视界传媒淚n the old nursing space, we had a lot of older equipment,性视界传媒 she said. 性视界传媒淚t functioned for the purpose of preparing for lab skills, but a lot of our mannequins were pretty outdated compared to what we have right now. There were some things that were in disrepair sometimes, and it was shared with (other) students so it didn性视界传媒檛 quite feel like our space.性视界传媒
Larson said the old space didn性视界传媒檛 feel like it belonged to the nursing students, which couldn性视界传媒檛 be further from the truth at the new facility.
性视界传媒淭his new building ... it really does feel like our own space,性视界传媒 she said.
Nursing students now have special badges that allow them access to the building that no other university majors have, she said. This allows them to utilize the building after hours and use the lab space on their own time to practice their skills.
On a tour of the facility, Larson pointed out the student lobby, which has a number of tables, chairs and outlets for student use. A nearby kitchen offers a coffee machine, refrigerator, microwave, cabinets and a table for students to eat at.
Larson showed one of the collaborative classrooms, where two students sat Wednesday reading to each other from textbooks. Down the hall, she commented on the staff offices, which were on the second floor of the old nursing building and not readily accessible. Having staff just a hall away means students are able to ask questions and get help easier than they used to, she said.
Larson then walked to the simulation hospital, which upon entering appears like any other hospital entrance with a circular nurses性视界传媒 station and check-in desk. Numerous patient rooms hold mannequins in beds with standard hospital room equipment including a sink, sanitizer, gloves, linen cart, a functioning bed, vital signs machine, sharps container, IV stand and more.
A mannequin known as 性视界传媒淪imMom性视界传媒 serves as a labor and delivery simulator and comes with a mannequin baby. In its room, a mannequin toddler also lay in a nearby crib.
According to Larson, students can practice tasks on the mannequins such as taking a pulse, listening to a heartbeat, checking breathing and bowel sounds, inserting IVs and more.
All the features of the new facility seem geared to help prepare students for real-world medical scenarios.
性视界传媒淚t really facilitates that transition from practicing something in the lab to actually doing real patient care in a clinical setting,性视界传媒 Larson said.
Students also have their own designated parking spaces behind the facility, which wasn性视界传媒檛 available at the old building, she said.
Larson believes all of the changes have worked to boost student morale since they now feel real nurses coming to work.
性视界传媒淣ow every time we come into the nursing building in our scrubs, we walk into simulation, we性视界传媒檙e really better prepared to walk into real clinical settings now,性视界传媒 Larson said.
