By Lisseth Hernandez
Central Islip High School
Stony Brook’s nursing simulation center houses a unique, crucial classroom that serves as the stepping stone to treating patients, and it’s about to get its biggest upgrade yet.
The world is currently facing a nursing shortage. However, in a large room filled with eight identical stations, realistic cadavers, IV units, the future of teaching nursing is actually expanding.
The nursing program at Stony Brook University already houses an extensive program that ensures every student nurse can practice their skills hands-on in the classroom. As one of three New York State institutions housing regional nursing simulation centers, Stony Brook’s program enables aspiring nurses to apply their learning while also considering how to communicate effectively and maintain positive patient-student relationships.
“Learning by having a simulation center like this enables us to really place more students in more environments to get the training, then we may be more available in the community,” said Debra Giugliano, who’s been practicing nursing for the last 35 years and has a doctorate in nursing. “So, it’s a great opportunity to train even more nurses.”
Gov. Kathy Hochul recently signed off on an initiative to support the expansion of simulation programs at the three centers. This incentive totals over $62 million, of which Stony Brook will receive almost $20.5 million in funding to expand its center. The simulation center is already sizable, able to teach two groups of nurses at once. The center features eight stations that resemble hospital cubicles and is roughly 1,500 square feet.
Expanding the financial support to these centers will increase their size tenfold.
“It gives us the opportunity to train even more nursing students to fill the nursing shortage to help take care of the health of our communities, and without that funding, we would not be able to do it so it’s absolutely critical.” Giugliano said
With the nursing shortage expected to continue, according to the American Association of Colleges of Nursing, 23% of registered nurses in the field have or plan to retire in the next five years. Students coming out of the simulation spoke about how this project affected them.
“I feel like the resources that we have are pretty good with alleviating my anxieties in the clinical setting.” Elizabeth Harvey, a first-year nursing student, said. “I feel like a new nursing student. The only thing you can do is gain as much exposure as you can. So, I’d say the lab does that for us as well as it’s just clinicals once a week.”
Harvey said the practical clinical situation offers her a good opportunity to learn what it is to act as a medical professional.
“Obviously it’s a bit of an uncomfortable situation, walking up to a mannequin in front of your classmates and talking to it like a real patient, but it does gives you the opportunity to be like patient facing or feel like you’re speaking to a patient, so it sort of just alleviated that anxiety of the first time being in a clinical setting,” she added.
Stony Brook’s resources have provided many nurses with security in their practice along with secure jobs after graduation, as mentioned by School of Nursing Dean and Professor Patricia Bruckenthal, who also has a doctorate in nursing and has practiced for the last 44 years.
“Ninety-five percent of our nursing students pass the nursing certification exam,” she said. “Routinely, that’s a very, very high score that’s one of the top in New York State, and so we’re very proud of that. But I think that this will even accelerate or advance our reputation even more, and that’s really exciting.”
The increase in these programs excites both Bruckenthal and Giugliano as they raved about how much this investment will allow them to expand such an established, prestigious program that’s already affected its community for the better.
“I think another way to say that too is all the technology that nurses would use when they’re working in the hospital or in any other settings is available here or will be available if we don’t have it, we will with this new funding to have all of the technological equipment that is the same as they would be used to using when they go into the hospitals” Giugliano said.
“With a 19 percent increase expected in enrollment,” Bruckenthal added.
It’s undeniable what this support will do for the future of Stony Brook nursing and the expansion of such a crucial stepping stone in medical service.