What is the Clinical Learning Center (CLC)?
The Clinical Learning Center is a learning lab that contains realistic skill training and simulation opportunities and is an integral part of nursing education.
The Purpose of the CLC is to:
- Provide learning opportunities in a safe simulated learning environment without the risk of causing patient harm.
- Teach nursing students basic and advanced skills to elevate their nursing practice.
- Provide evolving and complex simulated clinical scenarios that develop critical thinking and clinical reasoning skills.
- Provide interprofessional learning experiences.
The Clinical Learning Center has the capability to stream sessions virtually for a variety of learners. Lab areas are equipped with fully functional hospital beds, a nursing station, medication dispensing units and supplies. Simulation areas are equipped with state-of-the-art mannequins, audiovisual controls and a debriefing area. Students integrate learning from the CLC to their patient care in clinicals and practica. Opportunities to use the CLC are built into class schedules and students can also take advantage of open lab times.
Gain Experience Without Leaving the Classroom
The simulators and mannequins we have at our two sites are able to do a variety of actions, including talking and producing fluid. We even have a full-body birthing simulator! Some of our simulators and mannequins available to our students include:
- Two Laerdal SimMan 3Gs
- Two Laerdal SimMan Essentials
- Twelve Laerdal VitalSims
- One Laerdal VitalKid
- One Laerdal SimBaby
- Two Gaumard Noelle birthing simulators
- Eight lower fidelity geriatric and multicultural full body simulators
- Seven low fidelity babies
Community Access to the Center
Instructional design plays an extremely important role in incorporating simulation into the curriculum. The selection of the type of simulation, how simulation might be used and a strategy for sequencing knowledge and skills to meet specific learning objectives is critical to the successful use of simulation. Design services for curriculum and research are available through the faculty of the College of Nursing.
The Clinical Learning Center is available to groups interested in implementing health-related simulation training. Please reach out to nursing@uwec.edu for additional information and requests.
