News Photo by Reagan Voetberg Alpena Community College nursing students learned how to handle cardiac arrest using a simulator on Friday.

ALPENA — When Alpena Community College (ACC) Nursing Faculty Member Bonnie Schopfer was in nursing school, simulation technology was not yet used. Now, it’s standard at nursing schools across the country, including ACC.

“We didn’t have simulation back in the day when I went to school,” Schopfer said. “We started it probably three years ago in this program.”

Simulations allow nursing students to practice patient care on mannequins in an environment where mistakes can be made.

“You’ve got all these rooms with mannequins in it…we could put (feeding) tubes in them, we can put foley catheters in them, we could put IVs in them,” Schopfer said. “So it just mimics a real patient.”

In April, the ACC board of trustees approved the purchase of a new virtual reality (VR) simulation. Faculty are still learning how to use that simulation. It will be implemented into more classes in the spring semester, Schopfer said. Using simulations, students can test their skills before implementing them on real patients in a hospital.

“I love it,” Schopfer said about simulations. “I’ll never give it up. It’s so cool creating scenarios for students. Today, in the level one group, we created seizures…so they had to promote the safety of the seizures, get the patient up on their side, get the IVs going…communicate with a doctor.”

“We don’t get mad if people make mistakes in simulation,” Schopfer added. “We just do it again.”

ACC nursing students Megyn Merrow and Tim Leow stated how helpful simulations have been for their learning.

“It’s really the best way to learn,” Merrow said. “I feel like sitting in a lecture, it doesn’t really help teach you anything.”

Lecture is beneficial for some aspects of nursing, like pharmacology, where students learn about medications, Merrow said. Otherwise, hands-on learning is the best way to develop as a nurse.

“Sim is probably the most valuable aspect of the schooling,” Leow said.

Simulations are especially useful for ACC students since they are learning in a rural area. MyMichigan Medical Center Alpena, while it covers basic nursing, does not give students all the exposure to medical issues that they need. MyMichigan Medical Center Alpena sends cardiac patients, for instance, elsewhere for treatment, Merrow said.

In simulation, ACC nursing students can learn how to treat patients with cardiac issues, rather than driving hours away for a clinical at a hospital.

On Friday, Leow and Merrow were preparing for a simulation of a patient with cardiac arrest. For students that have not had exposure to a real-life cardiac arrest, practicing in a simulation reduces the stress of the situation when it occurs in clinical or on the job.

“Looking at a screen, reading slideshows does nothing for me,” Merrow said. “I need to be able to do it and see it happen to learn it.”

Reagan Voetberg can be reached at 989-358-5683 or rvoetberg@TheAlpenaNews.com.