The Penn State Behrend Nursing Skills Lab and Simulation Center bridges the gap between classroom theory and real-world clinical practice through advanced simulation technology and hands-on, immersive learning.
Designed to mirror modern clinical environments, our facilities provide nursing students with a safe, controlled space to develop core competencies, refine critical decision-making skills, and build professional confidence before caring for patients.
Clinical Skills Laboratory
The Skills Lab serves as both an active learning classroom and clinical practice environment. Flexible, modular furniture allows instructors to transition from interactive lectures to practical demonstrations and competency check-offs.
Lab Features and Equipment
- Patient Bays: Nine fully equipped hospital beds and three dedicated examination tables, complete with privacy curtains.
- Clinical Headwalls: Fully operational wall units at each bed station with working suction equipment, oxygen setups, blood pressure cuffs, thermometers, otoscopes, and ophthalmoscopes.
- Specialized Task Trainers: IV training arms, central venous line models, and advanced wearable task trainers that allow students to practice tracheostomy care, catheterization, and sterile dressing changes on standardized patients.
Core Clinical Competencies
Students gain hands-on experience with fundamental and advanced nursing interventions, including:
- Comprehensive physical assessment
- Medication administration and IV insertion
- Foley catheter and nasogastric (NG) tube insertion
- Wound and ostomy care
- Central line care, blood draws, and sterile dressing management
High-Fidelity Simulation Center
Simulation is a cornerstone of our curriculum. Our four-bay simulation suite provides immersive scenarios that mirror acute care challenges, including rare, high-stakes events such as cardiac arrest or postpartum hemorrhage, allowing students to hone their critical thinking without risking patient safety.
Specialized Simulation Suites
- Two Medical-Surgical Suites: Designed for adult acute and progressive care scenarios.
- Obstetric Suite: Equipped for labor, delivery, and postpartum management.
- Pediatric Suite: Configured for pediatric and infant emergency workflows.
Advanced Simulation Technology
- Patient Simulators:
- High-fidelity Laerdal simulators, including SimMan 3G, SimJunior, SimBaby, and SimNewB
- High-fidelity birthing simulator for real-time childbirth and obstetric-complication scenarios
- Three low-fidelity manikins enhanced by SimPad technology
- Physiologic Realism: Manikins exhibit palpable pulses, realistic heart and lung sounds, dynamic vital signs, chest rise, pupil responses, and simulated seizure activity.
- Bedside Clinical Monitors: Provide live ECG rhythms and hemodynamic data adjusted dynamically by faculty.
Integrated Learning and Debriefing
Every simulation suite is supported by an observation and control room where faculty direct patient scenarios and monitor student responses in real time.
- Audiovisual Recording: Scenarios are recorded for structured, faculty-guided debriefing sessions where students analyze their clinical decisions, identify areas for improvement, and reinforce strong nursing practices.
- Electronic Medical Records (EMR): Students chart and navigate digital patient records during simulations to reflect current clinical documentation standards.
The Nursing Skills Lab and Simulation Center gives Penn State Behrend nursing students repeated opportunities to practice, make decisions, receive feedback, and build confidence in a realistic clinical setting before applying those skills in patient care.
To learn more about the Nursing program at Penn State Behrend, visit Nursing, B.S.N. or Request More Information.