CSB/SJU Nursing Department moves forward with renovation plans

The College of Saint Benedict and Saint John's University Nursing Department is moving forward with a major renovation to their nursing facility. The project is set to begin in December and will encompass the entire fourth floor of the Main Building on the CSB campus.

When completed, the 4,000 square foot space will feature two state-of-the-art classrooms and simulation rooms equipped with audiovisual recording technology to support student learning. The nursing program opened in 1973 and hasn't had a major building renovation since 1984.

"One of the biggest challenges that you'll see in nursing education that has emerged is this whole idea of simulation," said Nursing Department Chair Carie Braun. "Just like pilots ... they don't fly a real plane first full of passengers. They go into a machine that looks so much like flying, they don't know that they're not. They can make mistakes and nobody gets hurt."

When completed, the $2.5 million renovation will help equip future nurses to meet current and emerging health care demands. Students will have the ability to record themselves while they are performing simulation tasks in rooms that resemble a modern day hospital as well as an apartment made to look like a patient's home.

"How do we create an environment that looks so real?" Braun said. "We can't really do that in our space now because they (students) can't suspend disbelief. It looks like an open ward. You don't do care in open wards anymore."

The simulated apartment will include appliances and other items that you would see in a person's home. Braun said students will be able to watch themselves on video and learn how to better communicate and interact with people in emergency situations.

"Students can come into the situation thinking and feeling like they are interacting with a real person," Braun said.

The Nursing Department will be temporarily housed in Richarda Hall on the CSB campus while the renovations take place. Braun said the project is expected to be finished by fall of 2015.