In September 2010, Penn Nursing students returned to school to discover that things had changed.  Over the summer, the second floor of Claire M. Fagin Hall had been renovated with the very goal of making the space more student-friendly.  But there are more changes to come… 

The nurse moves closer to the frantic mother, stands beside her and starts to explain the reason the doctors are placing a breathing mask on her one-month old child. As the care team works to lower the heartbeat of the infant, the nurse simultaneously monitors the wellbeing of the patient and its mother – critical to providing understanding and comfort to anxious families and allowing the rest of the team to focus on the patient. 

Real life?  Yes and no.  The patient in this case is a high-fidelity mannequin that is an innovative opportunity for students to learn – sometimes by making the wrong decision – in a safe and almost-real environment. These are the kinds of innovations at the core of Penn Nursing’s re-envisioned undergraduate curriculum. To Penn Nursing faculty, simulation education, in which students are asked to watch and role-play everyday clinical situations, is one of the most critical elements for the future of nursing education. That’s why the School is dedicated to improving simulation and other laboratory technology as part of its next phase of improvements to Fagin Hall.

“Penn Nursing is a leader in educating the future of the profession, and that’s why now we must take the lead to invest in these innovative tools for learning,” said Margaret Bond Simon Dean of Nursing Afaf I. Meleis.

 Due to the growing acuity of patients and the decline in clinical learning opportunities nationally, enhancing the School’s simulation environment and fully integrating simulation within the curriculum is a critical priority.  This leading move will require a serious investment in updating and expanding our anatomy and simulation space and technology.  The School’s plan for a cutting-edge lab space and simulation center will respond to and anticipate trends in nursing and interdisciplinary care to create cutting edge behavioral, live action, and high fidelity simulations.

Penn Nursing was at the forefront of simulation education when it opened the Mathias J. Brunner Laboratory and Nursing Simulation Center in 2001.  For almost 10 years, the existing lab has enabled our students to assimilate into professional practice roles with confidence, and competency with a foundation for expertise in general and specialty care across settings and transitions.  But has the science and technology of health care and nursing has advanced so too must the learning facilities within Fagin Hall.

Another equally vital focus of future renovations will be the anatomy and physiology laboratory.  The current basic science laboratory infrastructure in the School of Nursing dates back to the 1970s.  Now over thirty five years old, the laboratories and their benches, furnishings and lighting have aged significantly.  In addition to showing years of wear and tear, they are no longer appropriate for today’s teaching methodologies.  There are also very serious considerations like a working fume hood in the chemistry laboratory, which by today’s environmental standards is no longer meeting basic safety requirements. 

Sometimes Anatomy and Physiology professor Dr. Connie Scanga has to remind herself that it is 2010 and her students are preparing to enter the healthcare profession as some of the most technologically-savvy nurses to date. But her anatomy classroom is cramped, stuffed with long, row-length laboratory tables that face away from the only chalkboard in the room.  There is no technology for students to reference microscope samples in learning and a handful of computers are inconveniently located in corners of the room, with chords coming from the ceiling and unsafely exposed.

Future renovations will continue to ensure that Penn Nursing’s learning laboratories and facilities match the quality of our curriculum, our educators and our students.

“We feel that we are at an exciting crossroads for the future of nursing,” said Dean Meleis. “As a scientific institution, we lead the nation in NIH funding for nursing science and are developing the knowledge, the models, and the best practices that are currently influencing practice and policy around the world.   And we have the same commitment to continuing to invest in nursing education and to leading the world forward in preparing nurses to improve health and healthcare.”