Cape Fear Community College prepares future nurses for real-world emergencies

WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) — Cape Fear Community College students got hands-on experience responding to a mass casualty emergency Saturday as the college transformed part of its downtown campus into a simulated hospital.

The exercise was designed to prepare graduating nursing students and first responders for emergencies, including active shooter incidents and other mass casualty events.

Inside Union Station, students worked in simulated hospital departments, including an operating room, intensive care unit, post-anesthesia care unit and medical-surgical floor.

Steve Brown, CFCC’s second-level associate degree nursing coordinator, said the exercise is held twice a year for graduating nursing classes.

Brown said the simulation gives students an opportunity to make critical decisions, communicate and work as a team under pressure before entering the workforce.

“To start preparing student nurses at the entry level to navigate emergencies, that’s a very novel thing,” Brown said. “It’s not something I think was happening when I was a student.”

The exercise also involved EMS students, UNCW representatives, faculty members, alumni and community volunteers.

Brown said the collaboration between agencies and community members helps prepare future health care workers and strengthen emergency response throughout the region.