Nursing students demonstrated their skills in a simulated emergency

Near the end of Spring Semester 2026, 55 Nursing students on the verge of graduation participated in a high-intensity simulation of an emergency situation, with support for the exercise provided by faculty, staff, and alumni of the Nursing program.

The exercise in the Health & Public Safety (HPS) Simulation Lab was led by SIM Lab Director Rachael Meier, Nursing Program Chair Sheena Davis, and Nursing faculty member Dr. Anne Dean.

HPS Associate Dean Beth Chimento said the “High Fidelity Code Simulation” exercise required students to work in pairs, taking the role of a Registered Nurse, which is the credential associate degree Nursing students earn after graduating and successfully completing the national credentialing test. 

The “patient” for the simulation was a young child who arrived in the Emergency Department with pain, a high heart rate, and low blood pressure, and then progressed to full cardiac arrest. 

• Other participants in the exercise included a mom asking a lot of questions, a doctor giving orders, and a “code team” that entered the simulation only after the Nursing students stabilized their patient by performing resuscitative measures.  
• Student learning outcomes for the exercise included quick assessment, identification of safety issues, prioritization, interdisciplinary communication and collaboration, and therapeutic communication.  

After each pair of students completed the exercise, they watched other students from the SIM Lab Debriefing Room and had opportunities to reflect on what they might have done differently.

Associate Dean Chimento said it took nearly 12 hours for all 55 students to complete the simulation, so it was a long day for the faculty and staff who coordinated the exercise and the alumni who carried out some of the key roles in the simulation.

“Our Nursing alumni enjoy working with the students, and the students benefit greatly from the real-life expertise of the working nurses,” Chimento said.

“This experience was possible because of the relationships Sheena has built as Program Chair with our Nursing graduates,” Chimento added.

(Reporting and photos provided by Beth Chimento)