Nursing Skills and Simulation Labs
During your skills and simulation labs, you’ll take the theories and fundamentals you learned during your ABSN courses and begin to apply them under the guidance of clinical instructors. These experiences help develop individual and team-based nursing competencies in a risk-free environment.
Skills Development
Replicating the hospital environment, our nursing skills lab features advanced equipment, medical supplies, and manikins that enable you to practice your skills in a lifelike setting without adverse consequences. These labs teach you how to safely and effectively apply core nursing skills, such as:
- Catheterization
- Physical assessment
- Nasogastric tube insertion
- Tracheotomy care
- Wound care
Simulated Practice
Nursing simulation labs provide a realistic platform for you to participate in diverse nursing scenarios without the fear of harming an actual patient. Challenging you to problem-solve, collaborate, and think critically, these learning activities teach you to apply your skills within the context of broad clinical practice. Nursing simulations help bring consistency to the learning process, reinforcing knowledge and concepts covered in program track coursework while ensuring you’re exposed to a wide variety of clinical challenges.
Simulation Lab Process
During the program track, you’ll participate in various simulations that support different learning objectives. Your first set of simulations will focus on the basics of nursing practice, such as patient safety and physical assessment. As you progress in the program track, these nursing simulations will allow you to follow a natural learning progression and apply critical thinking skills (as well as clinical judgment) to patient care.
After a simulation, you’ll participate in a debriefing session with faculty and other classmates to discuss the experience. During debriefing sessions, you will be encouraged to reflect on the experience within an open, honest setting, allowing faculty to understand your actions and clinical approach. These lessons are without criticism, only constructive feedback.
Nursing Lab Locations
Students enrolled in our online-based ABSN program track complete their nursing skills labs and simulations at the Loyola Downers Grove ABSN site. Students enrolled in the in-person ABSN program track complete their nursing skills labs and simulations at the Loyola Health Sciences Campus in Maywood, Illinois.
