Clinical Skills and Nursing
Simulation Labs
The hands-on learning component of our accelerated nursing program and our Advanced Standing B.S. in Nursing program takes place at our Utica ABSN sites in Albany and Syracuse*, New York, where you will undergo your nursing simulation labs and skills labs. You will log approximately 225 hours of lab time, learning and applying clinical skills in a controlled, risk-free environment.
Labs Provide a Dose of Reality
We want you to feel prepared for your clinical rotations, which is why our nursing simulation labs get you as close as possible to genuine patient care situations.
Our anatomically correct medical manikins allow you to:
- Practice core skills that include checking blood pressure and treating wounds.
- Apply critical skills in trauma scenarios such as internal bleeding.
- Learn from mistakes and correct them with the help of faculty.
- Practice team collaboration via interactive patient care strategies.
Simulation Labs
During the nursing simulation labs, you will use real hospital equipment to “treat” medical manikins in a mock clinical setting. These labs comprise three main learning components:
- Students and instructors discuss and prepare for a specific clinical scenario.
- Students participate in the simulated clinical experience associated with a specific scenario.
- Students and faculty participate in a debriefing session following the simulated clinical experience.
When it comes to the different clinical scenarios you will experience during your nursing simulation labs, we urge you to ask questions to ensure you understand how to properly apply nursing theory in professional practice.
Skills Labs
In order to enter the workforce as a capable nurse, you’ll first have to spend some time learning the basics. That’s exactly why the Utica University nursing skills labs help you practice fundamental nursing skills in a controlled environment that is set up to function like a real hospital. You’ll learn skills such as:
- Checking vital signs and recording blood pressure, pulse, etc.
- Conducting a head-to-toe nursing assessment
- Inserting catheters and IVs
- Nasogastric intubation
- Treating wounds
Secure Learning Environment
Labs are the time to try your skills and apply the knowledge you’ve gained from your online coursework. While labs are set up like a real-world health care facility, there’s no risk of harming a human patient, so there’s less pressure if you get something wrong. This is the time to learn by doing, and through discussions with your peers and instructors on what went right and what went wrong, you’ll get a better handle on the day-to-day duties of a working nurse.
When choosing an accelerated nursing school, it is important to select a program with quality nursing simulation lab experiences. Research shows that nursing simulation labs are a highly effective teaching methodology that fosters the development of critical thinking, decision making, and problem-solving skills that are essential in complex patient care.
Contact us to learn more about our clinical skills and nursing simulation labs.
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Ready for nursing school but stressed about applying? We recommend downloading our free admissions checklist to learn the important ins and outs of applying to accelerated nursing school.
*Classes held at our Syracuse learning site have been temporarily relocated to our main campus in Utica, New York. Speak with an admission representative to learn more.