2014-11-07

              A new teaching center was added to Illinois Wesleyan University’s School of Nursing (SON) on Oct. 13, enabling students to practice their skills in both simulated hos­pital and home healthcare environ­ments.
Simulation nursing education is a method used to guide students in clinical scenarios and let them expe­rience a range of medical situations in a safe and controlled environ­ment.
“The new center gives us the autonomy we will experience once we graduate, but without the worry of hurting someone. It forces us to think critically about emergent situ­ations,” said senior Nursing major Natalie Statham.
Now in the garden center of Ste­venson Hall, the simulation cen­ter features two “hospital” rooms equipped with computer-run man­nequins. Professional laboratory staff member Becky Altic, BSN, RN, programs the mannequins with specific medical conditions, vital signs and outcomes to mimic “patient” responses from a control room. Working behind a two-way mirror, Altic is no longer visible to the students.
“This not only increases fidelity, but also prohibits the students from anticipating any changes made in the “patients” condition,” Altic said.
In SON’s previous center on the first floor, Altic would control the mannequin in the same room as the students.
“This didn’t affect the quality of students’ experiences, but the addi­tion of the control room allows us to communicate more efficiently with the “patient” and maintain focus on the clinical scenario,” senior Nurs­ing major Colin Barr said.
While the previous design ade­quately provided quality and safety training for nursing students, the new center is now consistent with best practices in simulated nursing environments. Altic developed the basic design, but consulted with professionals experienced in wir­ing, construction and audio. “As our budget increased, many people con­tributed ideas for enhancements,” Altic said.
The new center has much more space, and the addition of a Com­munity Health room, which mim­ics a small apartment and allows students to conduct home health as­sessments in a life-like setting.
The students are expected to evaluate the patient and their envi­ronment, looking for “safety issues, proper medication storage and nec­essary resources,” Altic said. “The space can also convert to an agency, providing the students with a simu­lated agency visit,” said Altic.
The layout of the simulation cen­ter was designed with a pathway from the simulation room to the debriefing that prohibits student in­teraction.
“The students finishing their simulations no longer walk past those who are waiting to start theirs, which prevents any transfer of in­formation or emotion to those who have not yet participated in the simulation,” Altic said. “The simu­lations are now filmed, enabling the nursing staff to review the simula­tions with the students more effi­ciently,” Barr said.
.The state-of-the-art simulation center is not only favorable to cur­rent students, but according to SON Director Vicki Folse, it also meets the demands of increased student enrollment.
“Every year the class sizes con­tinue to grow, which illustrates to me that prospective students want to graduate from our program be­cause we produce quality nurses that are prepared for that next step after graduation. The new simula­tion center adds to this,” Barr said.
Volume 121 | Issue 9 blogs.iwu.edu/argus/ November 7, 2014
Women’s soccer to face Augustana in semi-finals
SPORTS, BACK­PAGE
Google Glass makes appearance at IWU
FEATURES, p. 6
After Halloween, Thanksgiving isn’t on everyone’s minds
OPINIONS, p. 9
Argus
the
Illinois Wesleyan University
KACIE GRAVES
STAFF WRITER
Illinois Wesleyan Univer­sity’s Transforming Lives fundraising campaign reached $141 million, surpassing its $125 million goal, on Monday, Oct. 27.
The campaign, which was announced in May 2009, sought to increase the size of the university’s endowment—the number of student scholar­ships and support for the Wes­leyan Fund.
Additionally, the campaign helped to fund significant ad­ditions and improvements to campus buildings and facili­ties.
“In 2006, The Board of Trustees approved a direction of where we were going and we knew we were going to need additional resources to achieve that plan,” said Presi­dent Richard F. Wilson.
“It unfolded naturally and we had to decide what our goals were and what our alum­ni and friends might be inter­ested in. In 2008, we began to formulate the plan more spe­cifically,” said Wilson.
Wilson believes that student involvement is the reason be­hind the campaign’s success.
“Every time we bring an alumnus on campus to meet the students, they’re always impressed. Students had an impact on our success that they might not even know about just by being themselves and interacting with the alumni,” said Wilson.
According to Wilson, the campaign helped to raise the number of alumni who support the university and, by the end of the campaign, 5,000 alumni were giving gifts to the Uni­versity.
This increased the number of alumni participation by 25 percent.
“The more alumni that sup­port us, the better position we are going to be in. Whether that gift is 10 dollars or 1,000 dollars, it helps the universi­ty,” said Wilson.
The Campaign also suc­ceeded in creating endowed chairs and professorships for the faculty, and, according to Wilson, within the last five years, IWU has secured 31 en­dowed professorships.
Because of these endow­ments, professors will receive more funds, providing their students with a higher amount of opportunities like guest speakers, conferences and re­search assistance.
“An endowment brings new experiences for professors and for students. On the profes­sor’s side, it gives me access to legal materials, research materials and employment law and intellectual property which are my areas,” said pro­fessor of business administra­tion Robert A. Kearny.
An important component to the Transforming Lives Campaign is its attention to scholarships, particularly the Promise Scholarships, which provide support for students with significant financial need.
“The Promise Scholarships provide funding in order to fill the gap. They give prospective students a pathway for becom­ing a Titan,” said vice presi­dent for advancement Martin Smith.
Because the Transforming Lives Campaign assisted pro­spective students with finan­cial means, this year’s entering class consisted of individuals from diverse racial, ethnic and socioeconomic backgrounds.
“I always hate it when a pro­spective student says that Wes­leyan is the school they want to go to but they can’t afford it.
We try to eliminate the fi­nancial element so that stu­dents pick the school that they think they will do well in,” said Wilson.
Inall, the campaign achieved more than its initial goals, giv­ing the university a higher amount of support, resources and student achievement.
“I’d like to thank our ad­vancement staff, led by Marty Smith, the campaign steering committee and the many vol­unteers across the country who made this campaign such a huge success,” said Wilson.
The Transforming Lives Campaign is the largest and most successful campaign in the history of the universi­ty.
Transforming Lives campaign exceeds goal
NUNZIA MARTINO
STAFF WRITER
Illinois Wesleyan’s School of Nursing opens simulation center
PHOTO COURTESY OF: IWU.EDU
Nursing students in the new simulation center cannot see Simulation Expert Becky Altic as she observes them through the two-way mirror.
PHOTO COURTESY OF: IWU.EDU
Students Elise April ‘15 (left) and Rachael Stevenson ‘15 practice their skills in the new simulation center.