The 3rd annual Simulation Symposium was the biggest and most successful symposium to date. The four-day symposium brought 103 first-year nurse anesthesia students on campus to participate in a unique training opportunity to learn procedural skills just before starting their clinical residency at clinical sites around the country.

With the support of 11 corporate sponsors, the students were able to learn the didactic material in a completely different format from the traditional classroom model.

Students participated in 10 simulations during the event to get intensive hands-on training for procedures such as ultrasound airway evaluations, peripheral nerve blocks, gastric volume assessment, central line placements, codes and epidurals. This type of simulated learning allows the faculty to expose the students to equipment, technology, procedures and processes prior to taking care of actual patients.

This year was the first year we had the opportunity to host five medical students from the UNT Medical Health Science Center during the symposium. They were able to observe how our Simulation Symposium operates and to learn from of our third-year students as they instructed the simulations.

“Simulation is an excellent way to bring practitioners from other fields together for mutually beneficial learning experiences,” Michele Ardigo, DNP, CRNA, assistant nurse anesthesia program director, said. “Research shows that inter-professional educational opportunities can build collaborative teams, which improve patient outcomes. I’m proud that Texas Wesleyan GPNA is leading the way in this important pedagogical approach in health care education.”

The aim of faculty and third-year student instructors during the symposium is to enhance the first-year students’ ability to excel in their clinical residency.

Ardigo worked throughout the year to organize the event and gain the support of corporate sponsors.

“I am deeply grateful to my simulation partner, Dr. Brian Koonce, and all the faculty, staff, local CRNAs, and corporate sponsors who made this event possible,” Ardigo said. “And I am extremely proud of our student leaders for their dedication, leadership and commitment to this event.”

At Texas Wesleyan, our Master of Science in Nurse Anesthesia program is designed to help CRNA students get the best education and on-hands experience, helping them to become independent thinkers who are comfortable in the operating room. If you think nurse anesthesia is a better fit for you than anesthesiology, learn more about our CRNA master’s program today.