Cindy Gonzalez
LINCOLN — State grant awards totaling $510,000 aim to provide student nurses with training mannequins, virtual reality tools and more to enhance learning and better prepare them to fill holes in the workforce.
The funding for simulation equipment was allocated last year by the Nebraska Legislature and is being administered by the Nebraska Hospital Association.
Academic institutions selected to receive the awards are Clarkson College, Methodist College, Metropolitan Community College, Nebraska Wesleyan University, Union College and the University of Nebraska Medical Center (Lincoln and Norfolk campuses).
Jeremy Nordquist, president of the hospital association, said workforce shortages remain the greatest challenge for Nebraska hospitals.
“This funding for nursing program simulation equipment is an important state investment in the development of our current and future health care workforce,” he said.
Stacey Ocander, senior director of workforce and education initiatives for the hospital association, said the awards are just the “tip of the iceberg” in finding innovative solutions to workforce woes.
“This funding will not only modernize psychomotor learning for our nursing students but will provide much needed access to the current nursing workforce in our hospitals through new and existing partnerships,” Ocander said.
Grant funding under Legislative Bill 227 is still available, according to a news release from the hospital association. Applicants must demonstrate how they’d use an award to both provide additional hospital training and to build partnerships in their communities.
The academic institutions selected to receive the current wave of funding have partnerships with more than 16 hospitals.
Funds awarded so far are to be used for equipment such as birthing mannequins to expand obstetric experiences, mannequins for medical and surgical scenarios, and immersive virtual reality tools that enhance critical thinking and improve clinical judgment.