Two leading New York educational institutions—CUNY and NYU Langone Medical Center—just announced they are partnering to create one of the largest urban health science simulation training facilities in the United States.
BMCC, which received $21 million in state and city capital funds for construction of the facility, will be CUNY’s lead institution for the New York Simulation Center for Health Sciences, which will train medical, emergency, nursing and other health care personnel in responding to real health care situations—without putting actual patients at risk.
More realistic and effective training
“We’re going to use the facility to increase our students’ competency and enable them to become better clinicians,” said Professor Everett Flannery, Chair of the Allied Health Sciences department at BMCC. “Plus they’ll have videoconferencing capabilities that will link allied health students in various programs.”
The professional development of nursing students will also be enhanced. “This simulated learning environment will prepare students to better transition into the workforce,” said Jacqueline Nichols, Chair of the BMCC’s Nursing department. “Hospitals and health care facilities are stressing the importance of graduate nurses being able to apply the appropriate skills to promote improved patient outcomes.”
In addition to training for CUNY nursing, allied health and emergency medical technician students, as well as those from the NYU School of Medicine and Colleges of Dentistry and Nursing, the Center will provide simulated training for emergency management workers from City agencies, Lower Manhattan community groups, businesses and volunteer ambulance services. In addition, New York Downtown Hospital will use the Center for decontamination and other emergency management exercises.
New York State Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver’s leadership for the project was critical in obtaining the Center’s necessary funding. “I am proud to have supported the creation of this state-of-the-art facility,” he said, “and to have ensured that Lower Manhattan community groups, businesses and volunteer organizations have the ability to train emergency responders there, preparing them, should disaster strike.”
Providing innovative educational resources
Approximately 1,200 registered nurses a year—almost 50% of all new RNs completing New York City nursing programs—graduate from CUNY colleges. In addition, emergency management and first-responder certification is provided through programs at BMCC, John Jay College of Criminal Justice, LaGuardia Community College and other CUNY schools.
“CUNY is committed to providing its students with access to the most innovative educational resources available,” said Chancellor Matthew Goldstein, “and the New York Simulation Center for Health Sciences clearly meets that goal.”
NYU Langone will coordinate design and construction of the 25,000-square-foot facility, which will feature eight simulation rooms, including operating rooms; a wet room/disaster training room; ICU/trauma rooms and 14 patient examination rooms, as well as conference and classroom space. Additionally, professionally trained patients (actors) will be part of the training, as will high- and low-fidelity mannequins with life-like capabilities, and plastic body parts for practicing treatment techniques.
“This facility will significantly expand students’ opportunity to practice more emergency management,” says Flannery. “These simulators, for example, are actually capable of ‘bleeding’, so students can practice a comprehensive range of emergency disaster procedures—in the wet rooms, they can even practice procedures involving fluids.”
Setting the standard
Immersed in challenging, real-world scenarios, students will enact their role in multiple-patient triage, homebound patient care, clinical and surgical emergencies, as well as put to a more visceral test, concepts and techniques covered in class.
“The new facility will provide scenario-based simulated experiences in which students can apply patient safety goals and critical thinking nursing interventions, based on course content material learned in the classroom,” said Nichols.
“This new simulation center will set a new standard in training health professionals and, in addition to its technological strength, its real strength will come from the inter-professional collaboration between NYU Langone and CUNY,” said Robert I. Grossman, Dean and CEO of NYU Langone Medical Center.
Linking students to the premier hospitals of NYU Langone Medical Center
That collaboration links students to one of the nation’s premier centers for health care, biomedical research, and medical education. NYU Langone is comprised of Tisch Hospital, the Rusk Institute of Rehabilitation Medicine, and the Hospital for Joint Diseases—one of only five hospitals in the world dedicated to orthopedics and rheumatology. Access to those medical centers will benefit nursing and other health care students and professionals in a myriad of ways.
“Going forward, we plan to develop a multidisciplinary team approach to patient care,” said Nichols. “For example, students from nursing and respiratory care programs would be able to work closely with medical students in a simulated critical care environment, to plan and coordinate evidence-based patient interventions.”
Construction of the Center, which will be located on the third floor of Bellevue Hospital at 462 First Avenue, has already begun and is expected to be completed by September 2011.
EDITOR’S NOTE: Thanks to the CUNY Office of Media Relations.
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
- CUNY and NYU Langone Medical Center are joining forces to create the New York Simulation Center for Health Sciences.
- BMCC is CUNY’s lead agency in the creation of the project, which will enable the simulation of emergency medical and other situations, for training purposes.
- Students from nursing, emergency management and other programs, as well as community groups, volunteer organizations and others will participate in the simulated trainings.
