Construction of a new nursing lab got underway at Piedmont University last week, and officials say the new space will provide a more realistic space.
"It's going to really let us do lab and classroom [work] in the same setting," said Dr. Julie Behr, Dean of the Nursing and Health Sciences at Piedmont. "We can set privacy curtains up between the beds to mimic real-life situations that our students encounter in the clinical setting."
According to the university, the new lab will follow an open floor plan, and its relocation from the fourth to the first floor will add greater accessibility.
The new space will also feature improved natural lighting and larger storage areas. Habersham Medical Center will also be donating equipment to the facility to create a more authentic setting. The eight hospital beds are more modern and in keeping with the current equipment in hospitals.
"The beds have more capabilities than the beds we're replacing, both in terms of their hydraulic systems and the equipment they're able to support," Behr said in a press release. "These beds will allow our students to more seamlessly transition from the skills lab to acute care settings with patients."
Piedmont's Athens Campus will also receive seven beds from HMC. The hospital also partners with the university to provide clinical training to nursing students.
Behr, who graduated from the Medical College of Georgia, tells AccessWDUN that the process for education in nursing hasn't changed in decades, so a more realistic and modern lab will only lead to better nurses.
"It's critical to the fast-paced learning we have to provide in today's modern nursing education," Behr said.
They hope to have the project completed by the fall semester.
Learn more about Piedmont's Nursing program at piedmont.edu/nursing.
