Dr. Annette Oberhaus, assistant professor and skills lab coordinator, works with nursing students on various techniques.

New home in Central Hall supports innovative curriculum

By Pete Fairbairn

The Bowling Green State University School of Nursing has moved into Central Hall on the BGSU main campus. The new facility features a state-of-the-art simulation center and a skills lab located on the second and third floors of the former Business Administration Annex, which just underwent a $3 million renovation.

The new home of the School of Nursing has been designed to facilitate an innovative curriculum that aligns with the latest advancements in health care. Nursing students learn basic psychomotor skills associated with the care of individuals across the lifespan. Development of clinical judgment skills continues in the skills laboratory as students apply evidence-based practice and the nursing process to concepts of physiological integrity, including safety, oxygenation, perfusion, nutrition, elimination, mobility, integument, sensory, and infection control.

Photos show how the new space and technology are being used for hands-on experience in support of classroom instruction.

Dr. Lisa Jacobs, simulation center coordinator, works with nursing students in the skills lab.

(Left-to-right) Jaelyn Withem, a junior from Columbus, practices techniques with Andrea Flewelling, assistant clinical instructor, and Alivia Bolin, also a junior from Columbus.

(Left-to-right) Alivia Bolin is joined by Jordyn Kuchta, a junior from Cleveland, and Mariah McDaniel, a junior who hails from Columbus.

(Left-to-right) Dianna Cooper, a junior from Xenia, OH, works with Dalaina Williams, a junior from Vermilion, Ohio.

(Left-to-right) Nichole Seal, a junior from Kent, Ohio, and Anna Winger, a junior from Tiffin, Ohio, give each other a high five after successfully performing several procedures in the skills lab.

The first floor of Central Hall includes classrooms and computer labs. Here, Dr. Shelly Bussard, director of the School of Nursing, teaches a course in clinical judgment. The course is a critical piece of the overall curriculum, serving as the foundation for "learning to think like a nurse.”