Nursing department receives new instructional tools

KAYLA HITT
News Writing Student

Seeing, then doing, is the purpose of instructional technology soon to be installed in the nursing laboratory on campus.

Ten new television-DVD combos will be installed in 1N10, right above the patient beds, said Rosemary Klepper, program director.

Klepper said instructional DVDs will allow students in the lab to practice skills in real-time while receiving instruction.

“Some students just need more practice to develop both proficiency and confidence,” she said. “It is our hope that this plan will help students who need more assistance to practice in a ‘safe’ environment.”

Mary Holter, nursing professor, stated in an e-mail she thinks the combos will be a great addition to the equipment in the clinical labs.

“Skill demonstration in clinical labs is an important component of student learning,” Holter stated. “This new equipment will facilitate that.”

Nursing professor Valerie McCartney stated in an e-mail that she believes the television-DVD combos will increase the speed at which the students can learn a skill accurately.

“Video at the bedside facilitates the student practicing the skill correctly from beginning to end,” McCartney stated.

The nursing program received the television-DVD combos from Carl Perkins grant funds, Klepper said.

In the past, these grants have allowed the program to purchase teaching tools such as patient simulators, child models and IV pumps, just to name a few, she said.

“Carl Perkins funds have enabled us to maintain a nursing campus clinical lab that is among the best in the state or even region, in terms of equipment and teaching materials,” Klepper said.

The DVD instructions will help students master technical skills because they allow for repetition, stated Jacqueline Frock, in an e-mail.

“The capability to pause and rewind, while practicing the skill, is going to be a big plus,” Frock stated.