Education Quad Ribbon Cutting, Nursing Open House Oct. 23
Two events on Fairmont State University's and Pierpont Community & Technical College's main campus on Thursday, Oct. 23, will bring awareness to efforts to develop and sustain an accessible and environmentally friendly campus. The Education Quad Ribbon Cutting and the Nursing Simulation Lab Open House are also part of the celebration of Homecoming 2008, "Falcons Are Forever."
The campus community and the public are invited to attend the Education Quad Ribbon Cutting, generously sponsored by Thrasher Engineering, at 2 p.m. near the water feature in front of the Education Building. As part of their 10-year facilities master plan, FSU and Pierpont began historic inner campus renovations in 2006, which are complete. During the transformation, the Education Quad area was leveled to allow improved access to each building on campus. Now, individuals are able to cross main campus from the parking garage to Hunt-Haught Hall on a level grade without having to negotiate stairs to building entrances.
A new water feature added to the area recycles storm water as part of its design and stands as a symbol of "green" efforts on campus. FSU has recently been named the charter higher education Energy Star partner in West Virginia. Morrow Hall is the first residence hall in the state to be awarded the Energy Star label. The student organization STAND (Students Taking Action in Nature's Defense) continues to help raise awareness on campus about "going green."
FSU's School of Nursing and Allied Health Administration will kick off a fund-raising effort for a state-of-the-art nursing education simulation center during an open house planned for 2:30 p.m. Oct. 23. The campus community and the public are invited to attend an open house to view the new face of nursing education by touring the nursing education simulation stations set up in rooms 134 and 144 of Colebank Hall. A reception is scheduled to begin at 3 p.m. Light refreshments will be served.
The campaign will raise $575,000 for the creation of a 3,400 square foot facility, housed in Colebank Hall, which will host six training stations, including three adult training stations, one child training station, one infant training station and one birthing training station. The nursing simulation center will set the stage for students to work with authentic problems, synthesize data, make clinical decisions and reflect on their practice.
Faculty and students will be available during the open house to demonstrate the various features of the new adult, child and infant simulators, such as listening to lung sounds, taking blood pressure, observing how a patient would react to various nursing and medical interventions. Medical Education Technologies, Inc. (METI) will bring, iStan, a patient simulator truly based around a realistic, human-like, skeletal structure.
"This opportunity for hands-on training is an unparalleled advantage to new nurses entering the ever changing health care environment," said Dr. Sharon Boni, Dean of the School of Nursing and Allied Health Administration and Professor of Nursing. "As health care technology progresses, it is essential that nursing students have proper and effective education so that they can meet the exigencies and demands of quality employers. The controlled situation allows students to become forward-thinking and pro-active without the potential risks of a clinical setting."
The demand for FSU nursing graduates continues to grow. The School of Nursing and Allied Health Administration currently has 216 Associate Degree in Nursing (ASN) students, a 34 percent increase over the past three years, and 63 Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) students, a 50 percent increase of the past three years. Sixty-nine students graduated from the ASN program and 31 from the BSN program in May 2008. Ninety-eight percent of FSU nursing graduates are West Virginians. More than 65 percent of FSU's nursing students come from Marion, Harrison, Monongalia and Preston counties.
"Local health care agencies are overwhelmed with requests for student clinical studies. The simulation lab will allow students to practice skills on simulators, rather than humans and they will learn critical thinking outside the typical health care setting. The opportunity to experience efficient, real-time, real-life clinical situations is crucial to the education and development of an adept nursing student," said Connie Moore, Abelina Suarez Professor of Nursing and Coordinator of Adult Health Nursing.
The benefits of the simulation center reach far beyond the campus. Once developed, the center could be used by health care facilities within the community to promote staff development and conduct staff competencies. As a training resource for both student and professional health care workers, the center has the ability to directly impact the quality of medical care in the region.
"There is a tradition of excellence associated with the nursing program at Fairmont State University, and the creation and utilization of this simulation center will allow this tradition to continue into the 21st century," Boni said. "Graduates of the nursing program will face many challenges and complexities as they enter the medical field, and this facility will ensure they have the skills to be high-functioning colleagues."
If you would like to be part of this crucial campaign to advance the face of nursing education at FSU, send a check made payable to Fairmont State Foundation, Inc., to 1201 Locust Ave., Fairmont, WV 26554. For more information on how you or your company can have an even greater impact, contact Keith Foster, Director of Major Gifts, Fairmont State Foundation, Inc., at (304) 367-4014 or via e-mail at jfoster@fairmontstate.edu.
If you would like to help FSU and Pierpont C&TC "go green" through a donation to the newly established Sustainable Development Fund, contact K. Jean Ahwesh, executive director, Fairmont State Foundation, Inc., via e-mail at jahwesh@fairmontstate.edu.
