When nursing students graduate from Northern Essex Community College, they will have some of the skills needed to assist in the treatment of infants with cardiac disease. They're getting hands-on experience by responding to a robotic baby that exhibits vital signs displayed on a cardiac telemetry monitor.
"You can hear the baby's heart rate and respiratory rate, you can take its blood pressure and hear the sound of blood flowing," said Patricia Demers, assistant dean of NECC's health professions division.
Development of a new training process for assessing the condition of a baby in cardiac distress was funded through a $10,000 Nursing and Allied Health Initiative grant through the state Department of Higher Education.
The training program was developed by Northern Essex faculty with the assistance of maternal child health staff members from Lawrence General Hospital and the nursing staff development department of Caritas Holy Family Hospital in Methuen.
This project expands the opportunities at NECC's clinical simulation laboratory on the Lawrence campus, which includes a simulated family of a man, a pregnant woman, a young child and an infant, Demers said.
In the clinical simulation laboratory, instructors control the manikins from a laptop computer by typing in commands that change the manikin's symptoms. Nursing students learn to respond appropriately and deliver the proper care, Demers said.
"Simulations such as our infant with cardiac disease allow students to experience the baby and its symptoms, and make decisions for care in a non-threatening and helpful environment," she said. "We can help them see alternatives to actions that may not be helpful."
The simulation laboratory also allows nursing instructors to videotape students as they assess their manikin patients. Then they can replay the video and help students understand if they applied appropriate interventions.
Northern Essex offers a 10-month practical nursing certificate as well as an associate in science degree in nursing. For more information on the nursing programs, call the Academic Advising Center at 978-556-3440 or 978-738-7423.source
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