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t m c » p u l s e | d e c 2 0 1 7 /ja n 2 0 1 8 36 Simulating Nursing Texas Woman's University oers around-the-clock training inspired by NASA Students at Texas Woman's University College of Nursing hone their clinical skills during a 72-hour simulation training. Modeled after a NASA curriculum, the program is an opportunity for students nearing graduation to apply their knowledge in a real-world environment. Far right: Connie Ayers, Ph.D., RN, who helped develop the program, consults with a student. B y A l e x a n d r a B e c k e r F rancine Hines is calling out in pain and asking for her family. "Why does it hurt so bad?" she groans. "Please, where is my daughter?" Last week, Hines underwent a total hip replacement and was transferred to a nursing home where she fell and dislocated her new hip. She was brought to the ICU and is currently being trans- ferred to another wing in the hospital. All around her, nurses are scooting IV poles, shuttling meds and checking IDs. It's highly-organized chaos, reminis- cent of all busy hospital units. But this isn't a real hospital, and Hines isn't a real patient. The scenario is part of an immersive 72-hour simulation training created at Texas Woman's University College of Nursing. Modeled after a program designed by NASA educators during the space shuttle era, this integrative training is one-of-a-kind and runs around the clock. Nursing students nearing gradu- ation work three 12-hour shifts begin- ning at either 6 a.m. or 6 p.m., and, just like a real hospital, are called on to juggle complex, multi-patient scenar- ios that require critical thinking. At a time when increased litigation and a narrowing focus on patient interaction has all but eliminated opportunities for nursing students to gain hands-on experience, this program offers a place for students to hone their skills, ask the right questions and most importantly, fail safely. "This is where you want them to make mistakes. You don't want them to make them in the real world, so let's catch them here," explained Andy Foster, a former astronaut instructor whose input shaped TWU's program. "The whole idea is to really push the team, everybody on it, and find out what do you really know and what do you not. And then deal with the real-world consequences of all that, because that's what's going to happen in a hospital." The idea for this type of training started seven years ago when Foster's wife, Connie Ayers, Ph.D., RN, an associate professor at TWU's College of Nursing, noticed that her students were given fewer and fewer opportu- nities to practice their clinical skills in the hospital. Final semesters were too often spent passively shadowing preceptors—nurses or advanced care providers already in the workforce. Ayers, a veteran nurse and educator, was concerned. "Clinical experiences were getting more observational in nature because of the patient safety climate and legal aspects of care, and it was no longer prudent for nurses to allow students to have full decision-making authority," Ayers said. "I was talking to Andy and asking him, 'How could we get those same kinds of experiences that provide