Seymour Butt, Chester Chest, and Surgical Sally have been confined to tight quarters in Cushing Hall鈥檚 clinical learning center since the 1990s. Next summer, the instructional manikins will move with the rest of the Connell School of Nursing to Maloney Hall, where they will take up residence in the School鈥檚 new 2,000-square-foot nursing lab. An expansive, state-of-the-art facility that is twice as large as its Cushing Hall counterpart, the new lab will house five exam rooms and a primary 12-bed clinical learning space.
Located on the second floor of Maloney, the school鈥檚 new instructional center will feature a complement of teaching tools and accessories, including bedside patient monitors, IV pumps, portable vital sign machines, medication administration units, crash carts鈥攁nd a new cohort of anatomical models that can mimic heart and lung sounds and various human conditions.
鈥淭he increase in space will allow greater access to experiential learning,鈥� which builds students鈥� skill sets, said聽Amy Smith, director of the Connell School鈥檚 clinical learning and simulation center. 鈥淭he beauty of simulation,鈥� added Smith, 鈥渋s that students are able to practice skills and gain confidence in a realistic and supportive environment prior to entering the hospital setting.鈥�
The Maloney Hall lab resources are expected to enhance student learning at all levels, Smith continued, from foundational skill-building to advanced simulation exercises that challenge critical thinking. In addition, students will have increased access to electronic documentation, so they can report their findings of wounds, surgical sites, and other simulated problems, according to Eileen Sullivan, assistant lab director.
The Connell School鈥檚 main lab in Maloney Hall will be named in honor of Boston College alumni Scott Brown 鈥�79 and his wife Tracy Burnett Brown, who graduated from the school of nursing in 1980. The couple, who are parents of two Boston College graduates, have made a gift to the University to support the education of nurse leaders.
鈥擯hotographs by Caitlin Cunningham