When Tina Hayes attended nursing school in the early 2000s, simulation was not as it is today. The most advanced they had to offer were arms to practice inserting IVs and pelvises to practice inserting catheters. This would not be the case for much longer. As she progressed through her career, she would see, and assist in, the rise of simulation as an educational tool.
After nursing school, she worked as a perinatal nurse at hospitals throughout Georgia. She first witnessed the use of simulation at a medical conference. She was captivated as the mannequin suffered a post-partum hemorrhage, which inspired her to pursue a career as an RN Simulation Educator at the Northeast Georgia Medical Center. It was here where she first saw the true extent of the opportunities simulation offered to up-and-coming nurses. She saw it as a safer, yet just as effective, way to give student nurses the experience they needed before entering hospitals.
Hayes began working for the University of Miami, School of Nursing and Health Studies as one of six Simulation Nurse Educators. Each educator has their specialty, Hayes’s being undergraduate obstetrics, although all six contribute to general simulation education. Students experience patient care scenarios just as if they were caring for patients in hospitals. Students get the added ability to care for these patients in a safe environment and practice skills they may not otherwise experience, such as newborn deliveries.
At the School of Nursing and Health Studies simulation practice is above and beyond the required clinical hours and these skills are truly cemented in the minds of the students through hands-on practice, helping them feel more competent in their clinical abilities. “I love simulation,” she says. “I believe it’s a very powerful tool for translating the what (concept) into the how (application), and our students gain a great deal from it”.
