It used to be there were no dress rehearsals in health care education. Clinical training at health facilities was the only way to give students real-world practice with patient care. The evolution of technology affords new means to gain real-world health care experience without real-life health care consequences, and FIU is leading the way.
FIU’s Simulation Teaching and Research (STAR) Center in the Nicole Wertheim College of Nursing & Health Sciences is the only facility in South Florida to be fully accredited in teaching/education by the Society for Simulation in Healthcare Accreditation.
“This accreditation validates the STAR Center’s standing as a leader in the use of simulation education and training for health care practice in South Florida since it came online in 2010,” said Clinical Assistant Professor Henry Henao, director of the STAR Center. “The center’s mission is to faithfully integrate technology, evidence-based practice and hands-on training in a controlled environment to give students across all health disciplines genuinely immersive learning experiences to hone their skills confidently for the uncontrolled circumstances of the real world.”
The accreditation spans five years and recognizes the STAR Center’s program structure and facilities internationally. The 20,000 square foot center recreates fully operational clinic and hospital settings complete with a 15-bed critical care unit, primary care offices, prep-scrubbing stations and operating rooms equipped with surgical instruments. The center’s high-fidelity human patient simulators include manikins from Laerdal Medical and Gaumard Scientific including Victoria – a life-like labor and delivery simulator and Pediatric HAL, the most advanced pediatric simulator on the market today. Furthermore, its technological teaching arsenal includes the Anatomage virtual dissection table, augmented/mixed reality learning lenses, and Double Robotics telepresence robot, among many others.
According to Henao, the accreditation is as much an endorsement of the STAR Center staff as the facility itself.
“Behind the technology and programming is a strong team committed to discovering and employing innovative methods of advanced teaching, learning, and research to prepare exceptional practitioners for the health care workforce,” Henao said.
Annually, the STAR Center conducts more than 48,100 clinical simulation hours for more than 525 students across the college, ranging from first-response and acute care to surgical procedures and rehabilitation protocols.
FIU Nursing collaborated with the STAR Center to participate in a landmark study by the National Council of State Boards of Nursing to determine the effectiveness of clinical simulation training for baccalaureate nursing students.
The FIU STAR Center will host this summer’s 2019 SimGHOSTS conference — an annual training event presented by the Gathering of Healthcare Simulation Technology Specialists for individuals and institutions engaged in health care simulation technology.
For the next five years, the FIU STAR Center facility and staff will assist training disaster response medical professionals on proper aeromedical evacuation and specialized medical care to critically-ill patients in-flight and during facility transfers. This is part of a $4.8 million grant from the U.S. Health and Human Services National Disaster Medical System that was recently awarded to FIU’s Academy for International Disaster Preparedness at the Robert Stempel College of Public Health & Social Work.
About the FIU Nicole Wertheim College Nursing & Health Sciences:
Established in 1982, the School of Nursing at Florida International University (FIU) in Miami, Florida was elevated to the College of Nursing and Health Sciences when it joined with the School of Health Sciences in October 2006. It was renamed as the Nicole Wertheim College of Nursing & Health Sciences in September 2013. The College offers undergraduate, graduate and doctoral degrees, as well as specialty certificates in programs across the departments of Nursing education, Athletic Training, Communication Sciences & Disorders, Health Services Administration, Occupational Therapy and Physical Therapy. The College’s Doctor of Nursing Practice program and Master of Science in Nursing programs are ranked No. 50 and No. 56, respectively, in the U.S. News and World Report 2020 Best Graduate Schools listing. For more information, visit cnhs.fiu.edu.
About FIU:
Florida International University, a public university located in Miami, has a passion for student success and community solutions. The university is classified by Carnegie as “R1.” FIU is among the top 100 public universities in U.S. News and World Report’s 2019 Best Colleges and 18 academic programs are individually ranked. FIU was recently ranked as the second-best performing university in Florida and graduates are among the highest-paid in the state. FIU has multiple state-of-the-art research facilities including the Wall of Wind Research and Testing Facility and FIU’s Medina Aquarius Program. FIU has awarded more than 330,000 degrees since 1972 and enrolls more than 57,000 students in two campuses and centers including FIU Downtown on Brickell, FIU@I-75, the Miami Beach Urban Studios, and sites in Qingdao and Tianjin, China. FIU also supports artistic and cultural engagement through its three museums: Patricia & Phillip Frost Art Museum, the Wolfsonian-FIU, and the Jewish Museum of Florida-FIU. FIU is a member of Conference USA with more than 400 student-athletes participating in 18 sports. For more information about FIU, visit www.fiu.edu.
