KAMLOOPS — Thompson Rivers University’s (TRU) mobile health-care training unit is ready to hit the road thanks to a donation of $200,000 from TD Bank Group.
The TRU School of Nursing’s Mobile Simulation Lab will soon provide TRU students living in BC’s rural areas in-person clinical training in their own communities.
“We’ve had students drop out because they didn’t want to leave their communities,” says School of Nursing Associate Dean Tracy Hoot. “By bringing education to rural learners, our hope is that it will help keep people in their communities where there is a great demand for health-care services.”
The retrofitted RV, complete with state-of-the-art training equipment and remote learning capabilities, has already logged its first kilometres and plans are underway for future trips near and far. With TRU Open Learning health-care students in locations from Bella Coola to Barriere, the mobile lab is intended to be an asset to BC’s health-care system and TRU students for years to come.
“Thanks to TD’s support, there are new opportunities to service remote areas through training and patient care with the TRU Mobile Simulation Lab,” said School of Nursing Dean Rani Srivastava. “The School of Nursing is committed to continued learning of Indigenous ways of knowing and being and increasing access to learning for all our students. The mobile simulation lab provides opportunity for both.”
As part of TRU’s Simulation-Based Learning Centre, the mobile lab allows faculty to use a variety of simulators and task trainers to provide diverse training experiences, including a high-fidelity simulator designed for clinical training named Nursing Annie, which accurately recreates normal and abnormal breathing sounds, heart rates and rhythms, and bowel sounds.
Among other skills, the lab allows students to practice patient care, safe patient handling, lifts and transfers. In addition to training scenarios, the Mobile Simulation Lab has capacity to be used for other purposes as well, including as a mobile vaccination unit and a mobile health-care clinic.
“We’re so proud to support TRU’s Mobile Simulation Lab and make health-care education more accessible for students from rural, remote and Indigenous communities,” said Zach Lord, BC Northern Interior District vice-president, TD Bank Group. “With Canada’s population aging at a rapid pace, the need for more caregivers in long-term care, assisted living and home support is greater than ever. Through the TD Ready Commitment, our corporate citizenship platform, we’re helping people and communities prepare for the careers of tomorrow by investing in initiatives that build employable skills.”
Finding the perfect RV with enough space to install a patient lift, simulation environment and living quarters for faculty or service providers — while also remaining small enough to drive without a special licence — proved challenging. Design was led by the director of the Simulation-Based Learning Centre, Michael Lundin and, now that the modifications are complete, the TRU School of Nursing is ready to hit the road for health care.
Contact:
Jessica Petruk, Senior Communications Consultant, Advancement
University Relations, Thompson Rivers University
250-371-5697 | jpetruk@tru.ca
