Norwich improves nursing facilities

New nursing facilities were constructed over the summer in the recently named Bartoletto Hall to improve the Norwich nursing program, according to faculty from the nursing department.

After years of working in the basement of Webb Hall with out-of-date equipment, the nursing students needed updates in facilities to maintain the program requirements and standards. 

"The school recognized the need for new resources," said Valerie McCarthy, the recently appointed head of the nursing department. McCarthy was one of the biggest supporters of the project.

Without this change, nursing students at Norwich would have been behind nursing programs at other schools.

The new equipment is state-of-the-art for nursing training, according to McCarthy.

One piece of equipment is the dummy, or "human patient simulator," which is used for students to practice on like they would with a live patient.

"Sim-Man 3G; he's a state-of-the-art human-patient simulator which has computer programming in him," McCarthy said.

The simulations the dummies can perform are specifically designed to put the student into a real life scenario. This allows students to practice their skills in a life-like environment, but without the problems or risks of involving a live patient.

With the facility improvements and the program's already high standards, McCarthy is confident the students will be ready for the working world after graduation.

"When students graduate, they go in as licensed people and are expected to perform the motor skills and procedures of a practicing clinician," McCarthy said.

Cadet James Weigle, a 19-year-old sophomore nursing student from Manchester, N.H., is very excited about the new equipment. "They have some really good Sim dummies," he said. "The ones we are working with specifically mimic heart rates and breathing."

This clinical lab experience is all required training students must complete prior to participation in clinical hours at the hospitals where they will get to work with real patients.

"They're going to have us test out of the lab, so they know that we're prepared to go to clinical," Weigle said.

Even with all these upgrades, Norwich is still limited with what it can offer its nursing students, according to Linda Yeomans, the university registrar.

"You have to have a certain amount of practical time to be certified," Yeomans said.

Because there are other nursing programs in the surrounding area, and so few medical facilities, the schools are limited to how many clinical hours they can get from the hospitals.

"We're maxed out because of the surrounding hospitals," Yeomans said. "We are limited as to what we can get."

That puts a cap on the number of nursing students Norwich and the other institutions can have attending programs at their schools.

Since Norwich made the improvements to its facilities for the nursing program, the students have benefited immensely. 

"It's really pretty amazing," Weigle said.