BR A N D AV E. ST U DIOS CON T EN T Valparaiso University boosting health care education with high-tech tools Sponsored content by Valparaiso University Valparaiso University's College of Nursing and Health Professions is using modern technology and unique instructional techniques to give future health care professionals the tools to provide the best care possible. Thanks to a $1 million earmark by U.S. Rep. Frank Mrvan and $250,000 from the Valpo Guild, the school's Center for Experiential Learning has added cutting-edge technology to its educational arsenal. Valpo students are sharpening their decision-making skills in the virtual space in a new program piloted in the fall of 2024. Using virtual reality headsets and the latest software from SimX, students are presented with virtual scenarios, patients and problems that they may not find in other simulations or clinical rounds. "During a scenario where the patient was having a seizure, a student stated: 'Why am I freezing?' This phrase seemed to illustrate a key reason why we have implemented VR. It provides students an opportunity to get hands-on experience with dangerous situations without any patient safety consequences," said Bailey Regier, MSN, RN, CNE. Other virtual technologies include HoloAnatomy, which will be used in physician assistant education to study large- and small-scale aspects of human anatomy in the virtual space. Virtual reality learning in nursing is so new that Regier -- along with clinical assistant professors Karen PHOTO PROVIDED BY VALPARAISO UNIVERSITY PHOTO PROVIDED BY VALPARAISO UNIVERSITY Hernesm MSN, RN, CNE, '14, and Grace Gass, MSN, '17, RN, '20 -- will present at the Midwest Nursing Research Society's 49th Annual Research Conference and the National Nurse Educator Summit by ATI Nursing in Orlando in the coming spring. New equipment at the College of Nursing and Health Professions includes hospital beds with the same features as what students will find in hospitals and clinics. Occupying the new beds are simulators -- life-sized human replicas. New high-tech models feature realistic pulses, breathing and the ability to talk to the student working on them. Beyond new technology, what makes Valpo's Center for Experiential Learning unique is how it approaches student emotions. While many comparable programs will run simulations, then debrief, Valpo's faculty monitor student feelings before and after simulations, and rerun simulations after debriefings in a unique "Dual-Run" method. This approach means that students are not overwhelmed by stress and can approach their field with confidence. "If their feelings are crippling them, we need to take time to deal with that," said Gail Kost, MSN, RN, clinical associate professor and director of the Center for Experiential Learning. The impact of this approach is reflected in students who experience their simulated scenarios in real life. "They tell us they were less nervous and felt more confident," said Kerstin Koch, '11, BSN, RN, simulation education specialist. "They know what to do." These technologies will also be used in numerous other College of Nursing and Health Professions programs and have been made possible by the leadership and efforts of Dean Karen Allen, Ph.D., RN, FAAN. With new technology and expert faculty -- including simulation education specialist Susan Zaweski, BSN, RN, and Katherine Martin '16, BSN, RN, '23 MSN adjunct clinical instructor -- Valpo students are set to be positive forces in the health care industry. For more information, please visit valpo.edu. This content was produced by Brand Ave. Studios. The news and editorial departments had no role in its creation or display. Brand Ave. Studios connects advertisers with a targeted audience through compelling content programs, from concept to production and distribution. For more information contact [email protected].