At Glacier Hall, the new Allied Health building for Modesto Junior College, the Medical Simulation Center is at the core of nursing education, offering students the chance to try new techniques on simulators rather than live patients. The Center includes four simulated hospital rooms, an observation room and a debriefing room.
In addition to patient simulators, the patient rooms each include three pan-tilt-zoom (PTZ) cameras and a ceiling-mounted microphone to record the exercises; a microphone and speaker so that the instructor, acting as the patient, can speak to the nurse; an LED monitor to display vital signs; and an intercom system that allows instructors and students to interact.
"It’s important to understand that, as interesting as the simulation exercises may be, it’s the debriefing where the real learning takes place,” explains Scotty Gonser, instructional support specialist for the district’s Allied Health department. Because the debriefings are so critical, they are recorded on video, along with the corresponding exercises. Students can review the instructor’s advice and their own reactions later, reinforcing learning.
Similarly, support staff records the lectures students attend, whether in person or via video. “The cohorts receive almost all classroom instruction via teleconferencing,” Gonser explains. “It saves them 113 miles of round-trip travel, making it possible for many to attend who otherwise couldn’t. And of course, all students have the benefit of reviewing recorded material.”
Gonser says the support he received from Diversified was a major factor in the success of the project. “The day before we had our grand opening, I had an issue with a microphone. I called the project manager and he had a technician waiting for me outside the building at 5 a.m.”
Based on these experiences, when the district opened a new Science Community Center at Modesto Junior College, which includes labs, lecture halls and a science museum, they trusted Diversified to deliver once again.
