Laboratories
Labs are an opportunity for students to learn and practice the foundations of nursing skills. Here, students will have the opportunity to collaborate with peers and demonstrators to develop their nursing practice as it relates to the specific clinical courses. Each clinical course has a specific area of focus and will build in complexity each year. In year one, students will learn how to incorporate relational practice as they perform foundational nursing skills. For example, students will learn about providing personal care, including interventions such as assisting with bathing. In lab, students will learn the psychomotor skills required for assisting with bathing and how to be present with clients, taking into account and their needs through active listening.
Active listening is an important part of relational practice where students learn how to ask questions, build empathy and collaborate with the patient themselves, their family, and the health team. Students will work towards becoming comfortable and confident with nursing practice skills and in sensitive situations for vulnerable persons.
Simulation
Simulation is a reproduction of clinical situations and scenarios that presents students with the opportunity to enhance their relational practice and develop skills in a safe learning environment. Simulation can be in the form of high fidelity mannequins, simulated participants, and virtual clinical scenarios, incorporating content from theory courses, lab skills, and clinical content. For example, in first year, students will run through a scenario that requires donning and doffing of personal protective equipment with a health and wellbeing assessment of an elderly patient.
Mid- to High- Fidelity
In terms of simulation, fidelity refers to the level of realism associated with the teaching and learning strategies. This can refer to the technology involved in the simulation; however, high fidelity scenarios can also occur without technology, using resources such as patient actors. For example, in second-year, students will experience a high-fidelity street health simulation, where they will take on the role of street nurse working with someone experiencing homelessness. The picture to left demonstrates a high fidelity scenario with low technology.
Mid- to high-fidelity with technology includes a range mannequins and computer-based learning. For example, The Hub makes use of mid- to high-fidelity mannequins. The Gaumard Family, Juno (CAE), and Laerdal Nursing Anne Mannequins are all apart of our larger teaching and learning family.
The Gaumard Family
Hal, pictured to the left, is a high-fidelity human patient simulator. He is able to blink and speak. Hal allows students to take his pulse at multiple pulse points, listen to a variety of lung and heart sounds, and administer IV medications. Noelle, pictured to the right, is a high-fidelity birthing simulator. Students will work with Noelle to support her through the stages of labour. Noelle can replicate a variety of experiences from a healthy vaginal birth to a post-partum hemorrhage. Students can look forward to meeting Noelle's beautiful baby boy, Trent, at the end of the birthing simulation, setting students up for their next learning opportunity of a neonatal assessment.
The Gaumard family provides you with hands on experience of real-life situations that you may not otherwise encounter in the placement setting, elevating nursing knowledge, skills, and judgement.
Low Fidelity
Low-fidelity simulators (often referred to as task trainers) are used to help students develop specific skills. For example, while learning wound care, students will use Seymour, a human buttocks wound care task trainer (pictured), to identify and care for various wounds.
Virtual Simulation
Virtual simulation is a teaching and learning strategy that provides students with the opportunity to experience scenarios and intervene in clinical situations online. This affords additional practice opportunities that maximize student nurse and patient safety while optimizing outcomes of care. Students will engage with virtual patients in a variety of clinical settings that require the incorporation knowledge, skills, and judgement learned in theory and clinical courses. For example, in third-year, students will experience an online emergency department scenario with the goal of prioritizing patient care, identifying the most critical needs, addressing those needs, and delegating interventions to other members of the health team.
Instructions for Missed Trent Simulation Hub Activities
Attendance at clinical learning centre sessions, orientation to clinical practice, and clinical practice is mandatory. Failure to attend learning centre sessions or clinical practice may result in a failing grade. Failure to attend clinical orientation will result in the student being removed from the clinical practice course and any related classroom co-requisites for that term.
If a student is unable to attend a clinical learning centre lab, the student must notify their clinical instructor, Trent Simulation Hub demonstrator, and the course lead, providing the reason for the missed lab. Following a missed lab/simulation or clinical day, students will be required to complete a proficiency plan to make up the lost learning opportunity.
