Cape Fear Community College uses simulations to prepare next generation of nurses

WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) — The nursing shortage is being felt across the country, including in North Carolina. At Cape Fear Community College, educators are using realistic patient simulations to help prepare the next generation of nurses and fill the growing demand for health care workers.

Walking through the college’s nursing simulation area can feel much like entering a real hospital.

Dozens of realistic mannequins give students in the Associate Degree Nursing program an opportunity to practice caring for patients in a controlled environment.

Students can communicate with the mannequins, check their blood pressure and look for physical signs such as scars — skills they will use when treating actual patients.

Brandon Guthrie, senior vice president of academic affairs at Cape Fear Community College, said the simulations provide valuable hands-on experience as the region’s health care needs continue to grow.

“The Wilmington area, our beaches being a retirement destination, the aging population is also going to lend itself to that,” Guthrie said. “I think that need is going to continue to grow.”

Guthrie said Cape Fear Community College is focused on making sure students are prepared to enter the health care workforce.

Karen Sharrah leads the nursing simulation program and said she hopes to expand the simulations to students in other health care fields, including dental hygiene.

The goal is to give students from different medical disciplines an opportunity to learn how to work together and respond when a patient’s condition changes or an emergency occurs.

By expanding simulation-based training, the college hopes to give future health care workers the practical experience they need before entering the workforce.