After nearly two years of anticipation, Paradise Valley Community College’s Health Science building is open and buzzing with activity and excitement. Join PVCC leadership, faculty, and staff for the grand opening and ribbon cutting ceremony at 1 p.m., November 19 at the Union Hills Campus, 18401 N. 32nd Street in Phoenix. Tours of the new facility will follow.
The 6,910-square-foot building at the southwest corner of PVCC’s Union Hills’ campus houses the expanded nursing program and paramedicine by 10 percent each year, while also providing training for 100 incumbent nurses each year. The facility houses four state of the art classrooms, a new, larger debriefing room, and two additional simulation rooms, the new space encompasses multitudes of innovative advances in technology to give our students the best experience in our classrooms and labs.
Highlights include:
- SimCapture software for video recording of skills and simulation/debriefing
- New nursing and pediatric simulators
- High-fidelity OB manikin and newborn
- Manikin-compatible ventilator
- Additional skill trainers, as well as portable ones to use offsite.
- New Critical Care/Telemetry course
- Paramedicine back in RN bridge
“We are so excited and thankful for the generous grant that made this all possible,” said Tina Barney, who facilitates faculty training and collaboration at PVCC related to designing, developing, implementing, and evaluating clinical education initiatives with an emphasis on technology, simulation, and alternative clinical experiences. “The new space, manikins, and video recording technology will provide learning activities that improve our student outcomes while demonstrating safe and effective care.
Barney also said the new amenities will allow students to immerse themselves in a physiologically safe simulation experience aligned with the International Nursing Association for Clinical Simulation and Learning (INACSL), the global leader in transforming practice to improve patient safety through excellence in health care simulation.
In Fall 2019, PVCC, along with Gateway Community College, was awarded a $4 million grant from the Arizona Governor’s grant to help expand their respective nursing programs. The Maricopa Colleges Nursing program currently has a waitlist of 2,600 students. An additional benefit from this grant is that it allows PVCC nursing to expand the program by offering additional courses including the Paramedicine-to-RN bridge and the Critical Care and Telemetry training courses for current RN’s in the community.
“These state-of-the-art technologies will provide our students the opportunity to enhance clinical skills, develop critical thinking, and boost self-confidence in their own nursing practice through experiential learning,” said Program Director Jessica Bruhn. “We are tremendously grateful for the opportunity to provide our students, as well as nurses within the community, learning opportunities that will foster safe, efficacious nursing practice, and we cannot wait to get started! The possibilities are endless!”
For more information on PVCC’s nursing program, click here.