JBU receives ARPA funds for nursing program
John Brown University nursing students Callie Gentry, Hannah Kintzel, and Drew Knudtson spring into action on March 1 as their ‘patient’ Carl, a mannequin with artificial intelligence capabilities, stops its simulated breathing. A Code Blue is called.
The nursing students worked to revive Carl and succeeded after 15 minutes of chest compressions and administration of oxygen.
JBU’s Nursing Department has some more of these mannequins and other high-tech equipment used to train its students. The department is always interested in acquiring more, said Natasha Trotter, department chair.
On Feb. 16, the Arkansas Legislative Council announced the state Department of Human Services’ request for $30 million in federal American Rescue Plan funds was approved, according to a Feb. 17 Arkansas Democrat-Gazette story.
The council also approved several requests from the state’s Department of Finance and Administration, including $6 million for nursing program support for JBU, Harding University and Ouachita Baptist University, the article states.
Each university will receive $2 million for their nursing programs, the article states. Trotter plans to invest it in learning space, technology, and student scholarships.
“I know some are specifically simulation-based,” Trotter said. “If you follow nursing education a lot, you’ll hear many people talk about nursing simulation as a resource to help produce more nurses.”
Simulated learning is an opportunity for students to experience specific situations in a healthcare setting that students may not be able to experience during their clinical training, Trotter said.
Trotter’s goal is to ensure every student in JBU’s nursing program experiences things such as codes or helping to deliver a baby and taking care of the baby immediately after birth, she said.
“We run our students through many different scenarios just so that they have that experience here before they experience it at a reallife hospital,” Trotter said.
Trotter is not sure when the university will receive the funds or who will administer them, but she feels blessed to know the university will receive them.