SD83 Students Show Hands-On Care in TRU Nursing Program
” He’s wheezing,” Kaily Jeffery noticed as her stethoscope pressed on the chest of the robotic mannequin lying in the hospital bed. Her partner, Kira Simpson, gave out the vitals soon after.
“Heart rate is 80 (beats per minute).” Simpson estimated.
The Grade 12 Eagle River Secondary pupils are two of 37 students from five SD83 high schools that participated in a hands-on field trip to Thompson Rivers University to learn more about the nursing and respiratory therapy professions.
Within the two-and-a-half hour session, students learned from nursing instructors about proper intubation techniques, how to “bag” a patient (bag mask ventilation), administer automated ventilation, check for vitals, identify different kinds of blood cells and medical terminology and bring a flat lining mannequin back to life with CPR. Students also learned more from TRU recruiters about other health programs it offers as well as other fields of study, campus life, and housing.
TRU’s state-of-the-art facility is nearly three years old and offered students over 30 practice dummies to work with. 12 of the robots are valued at 100-thousand dollars each and can do human functions like blink, speak, breath, cry, dilate their pupils and even give birth. The facility can also house 30-50 stable patients in case of disaster because of an overflow of trauma cases at Royal Inland Hospital.
SD83 Careers will be offering more opportunities this year for students interested in health careers. On December 7th, BCIT will be hosting a virtual seminar to talk about the lesser-know careers in the industry such as MRI Technology, Radiology, Sonography and Nuclear Medicine. In March, PVSS will be hosting UBC’s Faculty of Medicine as residents and graduates talk about careers as a doctor. Other initiatives are proposed for the spring as well including a tour of Interior Health facilities across the district. If you are interested in any of these options, please make sure to contact the career coordinator at your neighbourhood high school or you can reach out to SD83 Career Education Coordinator George Richard at 778-824-1188 (phone or text) or email grichard@sd83.bc.ca.