Created in 2006, the International Academy for Clinical Simulation and Research has positioned the SONHS as a globally recognized center for simulation immersion. The Academy was one of the first large-scale simulation centers in the country designed exclusively for nursing and health sciences education. Featuring high fidelity, computer-driven simulators that mimic detailed physiological symptoms and respond to student led clinical interventions, it facilitated full integration of simulation into the school’s curriculum and enabled students to work with the most lifelike human patient simulators available on the market, building both their confidence and their clinical skills before they ever touch a real patient. The Academy’s “patients” (i.e. simulators) act just like the real thing – they talk or make noises, have babies or heart attacks, exhibit vital signs, and perform most human bodily functions.
In November, the school broke ground on a 5-story, 41,000-square-foot cutting-edge Simulation Hospital. This transformative facility will provide an enhanced simulation education center for students by replicating the true flow of activity in a clinical practice and hospital.
“This endorsement from the SSH acknowledges the quality of our healthcare simulation education program and validates our plans to build the Simulation Hospital,” said Nilda (Nena) Peragallo Montano, Dean of the School of Nursing and Health Studies. “Provisional accreditation represents an important step in the journey towards full accreditation. It is a timely achievement that reflects our mission to remain at the forefront of healthcare education by instilling in our graduates the necessary clinical competencies to benefit patient outcomes and improved clinical care. When it comes to healthcare, simulation saves lives.”
The Society of Simulation in Healthcare was formed in 2004 to develop and promote standards of simulation-based practice, education, and research in the facilitation of patient safety. Now with more than 2,000 members, the group is a broad-based, multi-disciplinary, multi-specialty, international society with ties to all medical specialties, nursing, allied health paramedical personnel, and industry.
