Our vision is to emerge as a national leader in healthcare simulation education and scholarship.
Our mission is to use innovative simulation experiences in the education of nurses and healthcare workers to provide safe, evidence-based, culturally sensitive care and promote wellness.
In order to achieve this mission, we commit to: Utilizing simulation education throughout the nursing curriculum using scenarios that increase the participants' skill base, critical thinking, cultural awareness and sensitivity.
Collaborating with healthcare affiliates to improve patient care by: Facilitating interprofessional collaborations through experiential learning.Acting as a resource for developing effective scenarios.
Contributing to the body of research in healthcare simulation education.
Providing a state of the art facility for instruction.
At the Decker School of Nursing, the Innovative Practice Center (IPC) is an integral part of the education experience. The laboratory space and equipment that comprise the Center significantly expanded in 2005 with a generous gift from the Dr. G. Clifford and Florence B. Decker Foundation.
Currently, the IPC houses a family of human patient simulators including newborns, pediatrics, adult, and birthing simulators. These high fidelity computerized mannequins are technologically advanced teaching tools capable of being programmed to represent typical and complex clinical patient conditions and clinical situations. Using human patient simulators, students learn to assess changes in a patient's status and react to those changes with appropriate nursing interventions. Dynamic and interactive mannequins verbally respond to student questions and clinically respond to student interventions.
Simulation is used at all levels of nursing education.
At the undergraduate level, students first become familiar with assessment skills and clinical nursing skills. Then they are challenged with clinical scenarios which require critical thinking. With simulation, the Decker School of Nursing can guarantee that every student will experience a birth and a CPR before graduation.
Graduate students use simulation to practice communication and advanced practice assessment skills.
