Waynesburg University nursing, criminal justice and communication students gained hands-on experience during a Mock Emergency Training Exercise Tuesday, Nov. 7.
While nursing students responded to a mock incident in the University’s state-of-the-art Simulation Lab, communication students were tasked with attending a mock press conference and covering the event. Criminal justice students served as actors during the incident. All students had the opportunity to learn alongside professionals who have chosen a life of service in public safety.
“This critical incident training for the nursing program also provided a multitude of other educational benefits to our criminal justice students and communication students, as well as collaborative first responder training opportunity for our local police department and the University's Public Safety Department,” said Jim Tanda, instructor of criminal justice and Waynesburg University’s director of security operations and emergency management.
Waynesburg University, in conjunction with local law enforcement and the University’s Department of Public Safety, conducted the multi-disciplinary training exercise in the Paul R. Stewart Science Hall. The simulation was designed for senior nursing students in the Clinical Prevention & Population Health course.
Organized by Tanda, Dr. Kathy Stolfer, associate professor of nursing, and Eve Weaver, instructor of nursing, this academic training exercise was designed primarily to provide nursing students with a highly participative, experiential learning opportunity.
“Health care providers need to be prepared and are often targets of various forms of violence,” said Stolfer. “The simulation event was designed to better prepare our nursing students for such an event through an inter-professional collaborative approach.”
Previously, the University held a similar learning drill in April 2015 in Buhl Hall, in coordination with local, state and federal law enforcement.
Founded in 1849 by the Cumberland Presbyterian Church, Waynesburg University is located on a traditional campus in the hills of southwestern Pennsylvania, with three additional sites located in the Pittsburgh region. The University is one of only 21 Bonner Scholar schools in the country, offering local, regional and international opportunities to touch the lives of others through service.
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Ashley Wise, Director of University Relations
724-852-7675 or awise@waynesburg.edu
