You can't force anyone to learn anything," said Jane Brannan, Ed.D., RN, association professor of the WellStar School of Nursing at Kennesaw State University. "A teacher has to be passionate about her subject and creative in her presentation, so that the student falls in love with the material and wants to learn it."
Creative presentation is getting a boost in many nursing schools these days from high-tech human patient simulators. These life-sized, life-like mannequins simulate physiological processes such as blood pressure, heartbeat and respiration and can be programmed to cough, speak, have heart attacks or babies.
An innovative teaching tool, patient simulators are helping educators bridge the gap between classroom and clinical instruction. In addition to lecture and lab time, more students are participating in various patient scenarios developed by faculty to test their clinical and decision-making skills.
This month you'll read how Georgia nurses are at the forefront of this movement, both in integrating patient simulators into the curriculum and testing the effectiveness of their use.
In January, Lori Schumacher, Ph.D., RN, CCRN, assistant professor and interim chair of the Medical College of Georgia department of physiological and technological nursing, presented her findings at the fifth annual International Meeting on Medical Simulation.
As the only nurse on the panel, she explained how simulation reinforced knowledge learned in the classroom because students were able to apply their knowledge immediately in a controlled environment. By simulating both common and rare medical conditions, students get to practice their skills before they enter a real clinical setting.
Nursing faculty expect the use of patient simulators to grow.
"Younger students, who have grown up with computers and video games, especially enjoy this interactive learning method. They're able to learn by doing," said Barbara Kaplan, RN, MSN, instructor and coordinator for the Evans Center for Caring Skills at the Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing at Emory University.
Whether the costs will come down and schools will find ways to streamline the preparation time and maintenance issues are questions waiting to be answered.
Did you know that March is National Nutrition Month? Pulse takes a look at the changing and growing role of registered dietitians.
"We've always known that there is a link between diet and health," said Dea Baxter, RD, LD, associate professor in the department of nutrition at Georgia State University, "but getting people to eat well is harder than ever, because everyone's busy. They eat on the run and don't take the time to cook."
Finally, I'd like to salute Memorial Healthcare in Savannah, which was the only health care organization in the country to be named a Distinguished Hospital by J.D. Power and Associates, and to be named one of Fortune magazine's 100 Best Companies to Work For in 2005. They did it the old-fashioned way - by building trust and relationships.