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As educators begin to adopt and understand all the possibilities that come with using technology in education, the University of South Florida College of Nursing, Tampa, is creating unique ways for its students to get hands-on, real-time experiences.
During two sessions last month, a group of nursing students took part in a 4-hour labor and delivery class at the college's Center for Virtual Learning. The patient is a computerized "pregnant" mannequin that can simulate complications, giving students the chance to deal with and learn from their actions during high-stress situations.
The mannequin also simulates a fetal heart rate, providing students with the mother and baby aspects of the labor and delivery process.
Students can view cardinal movements internally and externally as the birth progresses. Professors say virtual reality learning also helps students during their clinical learning at local hospitals, where they are often called upon as observers.
The simulation lab complements traditional teaching methods by allowing students to practice bedside skills and clinical judgment they could only observe in the clinical setting, said clinical instructor Jenny Molloy MS, ARNP-BC, RN,C. Patient simulators also expose students to an array of medical conditions, including rare complications they might not otherwise see.
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