David J. Olender / Assistant Photo Editor

Nursing students at San Diego State may be better prepared for jobs after graduation because of the high-tech, hands-on experience they gain at the university’s Human Patient Simulation Center.

The center, which has been open for a year, recently received a $1 million gift from Sharp HealthCare. The five-year gift will expand the use of the center, supplies and possibly fund outcome studies.

“Our commitment to SDSU is out of a belief of investing in our community,” said Dan Gross, the executive vice president of hospital operations for Sharp HealthCare. “San Diego is facing the largest running nurse shortage since World War II. That is partly due to the fact that there is aging, growing population requiring health care and the nursing supply is not keeping up.”

Catherine Todero, director of the School of Nursing said that the gift would allow SDSU to set up an aggressive simulation agenda and to take full advantage of the center.

At the center nursing students are able to practice with seven fully-automated patient simulators, which include four adult simulators, one pediatric model and an infant model. Each simulator costs about $50,000 and the warranties can be about $4,500 a year. The rooms are also equipped with gurneys, heart monitors and crash carts.

“Simulation allows students to practice in a safe, non-threatening environment,” said Mary Beth Parr, coordinator of the center. “SDSU now has the biggest simulator center in San Diego and Imperial counties.”

Nursing junior Arlene Hady said the best part of the simulation center is that it is very life-like.

“It allows for you to ask questions,” Hady said. “It looks like a real hospital and it allows for you to work together as a team.”

The models are attached to computers which mimic more than 90 different medical conditions. They also include audio technology with which the professors can act as the patient.

Students take part in the simulations by acting as nurses, doctors or relatives.

“They have a pediatric rotation ? they are taking care of a 1-week-old baby having trouble breathing,” Parr said as the students acted out the role, calming the crying baby model.

The students have other scenarios to deal with in addition to the difficult breathing baby, such as cocaine overdose, hemorrhaging after pregnancy and heart attacks.

Parr said that although some situations are high-risk scenarios that involve quick critical thinking and decision making, there are also low-volume situations.

“I’ve had students come to me and tell me that at least they know what to do if that situation occurs, although it may not be common,” Parr said.

In most of the simulated scenarios students can ask questions, but the teachers will stand back and allow them to make decisions.

“It is a chance to see how I would handle a situation without major consequences; there’s not a lot of pressure,” nursing sophomore Mario Chavez said.