Seelos lab opens

Community members gained a behind-the-scenes look at how today’s Research College of Nursing students learn to care for patients by attending an open house for the college’s new Seelos Center on Friday, Feb. 15.

Guests toured the new facility and had the chance to interact with its high-fidelity, life-size patient simulators. These simulators range from an infant to a five-year old to an adult, both male and female. Each can simulate a heartbeat, seizures, breathing, blinking and more. The adult female simulator can even give birth.

“The Seelos Center provides participants with guided experience in clinical situations,” said Tobey Stosberg, RN, assistant professor and director of The Seelos Center at Research College of Nursing.  “Many of the situations they experience in a simulation setting are scenarios they might not get an opportunity to explore in the real world. They are interactive, immersive experiences that provide opportunities for clinical reasoning and allow for team learning in a safe, non-threatening environment. The point of this experience is to take errors and turn them into a learning lesson.”

The Seelos Center is a 6,907 square foot multifunctional center made up of classroom and meeting space, simulation labs, exam rooms and lounge areas. Funding for the center was received in January 2011. Construction began in April 2012 and was completed in October 2012. Research College of Nursing students will begin using the facility in March 2013.

The center was funded by a $1.5 million gift to Research College of Nursing and Rockhurst University from the “In Thanksgiving to the Blessed Seelos Fund” in honor of the donor family’s patron, The Blessed St. Francis X. Seelos, C.Ss.R.