Saving Lives through Discovery and Learning  

Undergraduate, pre-licensure nursing students = 400

RN to BSN program students = 150

Students in master's degree programs (nursing administration, nursing education and nurse practitioner) = 410

PhD = 40

DNP = planned for Fall 2009

RNs employed in area healthcare facilities = 100

Children's hospital transport team members (10)

Planned for 2009 – trauma team training, ED physicians (50)

Pre-college summer camp = 70

To close the gap between training and practice and between science and healthcare delivery to improve care and care outcomes.

To overcome the current 'patient bound' restrictions on workforce development, research, and technology development.

To conduct the translational research needed to bring scientific innovations to healthcare.

To serve as a state of the science center to develop, test, and disseminate replicable models for regional to international solutions for the training, research, and technology development challenges facing health care.

Simulation is at the heart of our educational/training goals. In our prelicensure program, we have the goal of up to 50% of clinical learning occurring in a simulated setting. We are moving toward a model in which students must demonstrate competence prior to exiting the undergraduate program (capstone clinical experiences and objective standardized clinical examinations). In our graduate program, we use simulation to enhance students' clinical expertise and readiness for the culminating clinical learning practicum and, in selected nurse practitioner programs, to ensure that students have the competencies needed for entering the culminating clinical learning practicum.

To understand the effectiveness of learning through and with simulation, we are developing a program of nursing education research. To date, individual faculty members have led this effort; but, we are now organizing the effort so that we can build the evidence that supports the use of simulation in nursing education. Key to this work is understanding the degree to which the use of simulation in our academic program improves graduates' readiness for practice when they enter the workforce.

Simulation has significantly aided our work in patient room design and architectural features that reduce nurse fatigue and enhance patient safety.  It has furthered our ability to apply engineering technology to innovations in healthcare and medical device design and evaluation.

In addition to being a Laerdal Center of Educational Excellence, the Smart Hospital is a National Demonstration Showcase for Hill-Rom, Inc. and the Nursing Discovery Center for Cardinal Health.

Funds from UTSystem, Amon Carter Foundation, Hillcrest Foundation, Hoblitzelle Foundation, and a congressional directed award through the Department of Education helped build the Smart Hospital.

Current and recent funded research projects include:

Quality of chest compressions when CPR is performed by female healthcare providers on a manikin laying in a hospital patient bed, Laerdal and American Heart Association, Oct 2008 – Dec 2010 C. Cason, C. Trowbridge, & M Ricard

Simulation use and course performance:  A pilot study. UTA Mini Teaching Grant Program, 2008-2009, C. Anderson  

Video simulation cases to promote more effective student nurse practitioners performance, UTA Mini Teaching Grant Program, 2008-2009, R. Courtney

Patient room handedness and caregiver body mechanics:  Physical design correlates of staff body mechanics in patient care delivery.  Academy of Architecture for Health Foundation, $38,400. August 2008-December 2009, D Pati, T. Harvey, J. Evans, L. Waggener, C. Cason, & M Mancini

Triple Play: First aid for sudden collapse.  Laerdal and American Heart Association, 2008, C Cason

Fatigue during CPR, Laerdal, 2006-2009, C Cason, C. Trowbridge, M. Ricard

Action Verbs:  First aid for sudden collapse. Laerdal and American Heart Association, 2008, C. Cason

Is a modified NRP course effective in teaching resuscitation skills? Laerdal Foundation for Acute Medicine, 2007-2008,  J. LeFlore & M. Anderson

Learning the principles and concepts of airway management:  The efficacy of replacing lecture with MicroSim.  Laerdal. 2007-2008,  C Cason, B. Mancini, K. Nelson, V. Hartman, J. Roye

Evaluation of simulation-based learning and scripted debriefing to improve PALS educational outcomes for learners and novice instructors: A multi-center trial. American Heart Association, 2007-2008 J. LeFlore

Outcomes research on the effect of simulation in Acute Care Pediatric Nurse Practitioner Program, Dell Children's Medical Center, 2006-2007 J. Leflore

Self-directed versus instructor-modeled simulation. The Laerdal Foundation for Acute Medicine.  2006-2007, J LeFlore

Simulation instruction and self efficacy in undergraduate pediatric course. Delta Theta Chapter, Sigma Theta Tau International Honor Society of Nursing. 2006-2007, J Michael

Development and evaluation of standardized clinical scenarios for nursing education. Laerdal, 2005-2006, B Mancini

Optimization and simulation for nurse assignment. Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, 2005-2006,  J Rosenberger & D. Behan

CPR education studies. Laerdal and American Heart Association, 2005-2006, B Mancini & C Cason

Inpatient unit design: Defining the design characteristics of a successful adaptable unit. American Institute of Architects, 2005-2006, T Harvey, D. Pati, J. Evans, L. Waggener, C Cason

Inpatient unit design: Defining the design characteristics of a successful adaptable unit.  Herman Miller. 2005-2006, T Harvey, D. Pati, J. Evans, L. Waggener, C Cason

Publications include:

Cason, C.L. Kardong-Edgren, S., Cazzell, M., Behan, D., & Mancini, M.E. (2009) Innovations in basic life support education for healthcare providers: Improving competence in CPR through self-directed learning. Journal of Nurses in Staff Development 25(3), accepted April 2008.

LeFlore, J., L., & Anderson, M. (2008). The effectiveness of two methods to teach and evaluate new content to neonatal transport personnel using high-fidelity simulation. Journal of Perinatal/Neonatal Nursing, In press Anderson, M., & LeFlore, J.,L. (2008). Playing it safe: Simulated team training in the operating room. AORN Journal, 87(4), 772-779 Kardong-Edgren, S., & Anderson, M. (2008). An all comers' clinical make-up using simulation: A brief report. Clinical Simulation in Nursing Education,
4(1). Available online at www.inacsl.org (members only).

Anderson, M. (2008). Debriefing and guided reflection. SIRC, NLN, available online at http://sirc.nln.org/mod/resource/view.php?id=97 Anderson, C, (2008). Simulation game playing: A nursing instructional strategy. Clinical Simulation in Nursing Education. 4(1), 1-14. LeFlore, J., Anderson, M., Michael, J.I., Engle, W.D., & Anderson, J. (2007).  Comparison of self-directed learning versus instructor-modeled learning during a simulated clinical experience.  Simulation in Healthcare, 2(3), 170-177 Poster, E., Cason, C.L., & Mancini, M.E. (2007). Interactive learning through a teaching/learning model puts nursing students in a virtual hospital.  ADVANCE for Nurses, 9(22), 37 Kardong-Edgren, S., Anderson, M., & Michael, J. (2007). Does simulation fidelity improve student test scores? Clinical Simulation in Nursing Education, 3(1). Available online at www.inacsl.org (members only)

Anderson, M. (2007). Grandma Chase's teaching tools for nursing skills. Clinical
Simulation in Nursing Education, 3(1). Available online at www.inacsl.org
(commentary/questions and answers for members only)

Harvey, T.E, Pati, D., Evans, J., Waggener, L.T., & Cason, C.L. (2007, January) Inpatient Unit Design: Defining the design characteristics of a successful adaptable unit. The American Institute of Architects. Online publication at http://www.aia.orq/res kc Online abstract at http://aia.org/f abstracts grant recipients Anderson, J.D., Boyle, C., Murphy, A.A., Yaeger, K.A., LeFlore, J., & Halamek, L.P.  (2006). Simulating extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) emergencies to improve human performance, Part I: Methodologic and technologic innovations. Simulation in Healthcare, 1, 220-232.

Harvey, T.E., Pati, D., Evans, J., Waggener, L.T., & Cason, C.L. Inpatient Unit Design: Defining the design characteristics of a successful adaptable unit.  In George Elvin, Ed. 2006 Report on University Research, 2007 (April), The American Institute of Architects

• Simulation to improve nurse competency

• Simulation in objective standardized clinical evaluation/examination
• Strategies for improving triage and care prioritization skills
• Team training
• Readiness for workforce entry/patient safety
• Medical device design and evaluation