PRESS RELEASE - The University of South Carolina Salkehatchie has partnered with the South Carolina Area Health Education Consortium (AHEC) to expand experiential learning opportunities for nurse practitioner, physician assistant, pharmacy and nursing students who are committed to underserved and rural communities. Using the simulation-based technology and equipment housed at USC Salkehatchie’s campus, Lowcountry AHEC is providing training for students from multiple institutions including the Medical University of South Carolina, USC Columbia and Charleston Southern University. USC Salkehatchie senior nursing students will be participating in sessions alongside the AHEC Scholars.
“The partnership between USC Salkehatchie and Lowcountry AHEC allows our nursing students to experience simulated scenarios that replicate what they will encounter as registered nurses,” said April Wolfe, nursing academic program manager. “Through these experiences, the nursing students have been able to interact with a variety of students from other disciplines, allowing the students to strengthen their interprofessional skills and improve their abilities to critically think. This partnership has enhanced our abilities as educators to prepare our future nurses to enter the healthcare workforce and competently provide nursing care to patients.”
The Simulation Education Training (SET) Initiative is a combination of online, virtual and in-person education and training for health professions students in South Carolina. There are four main components students must complete in order to receive their certificate of completion. Students complete two self-paced online modules Introduction to SC AHEC Core Topics and Interprofessional Team Case Simulation through the SC AHEC Learning Portal. Students also participate in a virtual, live Interprofessional Team Case Conference in which they discuss a case and develop goals for a comprehensive, team-focused plan of care.
The culmination of the initiative is the high-fidelity patient simulation at USC Salkehatchie’s state-of-the-art lab on the Walterboro campus. The lab provides nursing students and area healthcare providers a centrally located training facility that eliminates the need to travel for simulation activities. The nursing simulation lab allows students to practice nursing skills and try new things without jeopardizing the health and safety of a patient.
Lowcountry AHEC Health Profession Student coordinators will be working closely with faculty at USC Salkehatchie to ensure the senior nursing students complete the requirements of the SET Initiative.
