LCCC Nursing Students New Clincial Tool

Tuesday March 25th WBRE/WYOU/PAhomepage

By: Amelia Sack

NANTICOKE, LUZERNE COUNTY (WBRE/WYOU) Nursing students at Luzerne County Community College (LCCC) now have access to a new hands-on clinical tool.*

School administration says it's something that will help them keep up with new technology and better serve patients. Nursing students can take their learning a step further with the use of five new bedside laptop computers.

"These computers, especially the laptop and scanners, will actually help us tremendously in our clinical experience out in the hospital. They very much mimic what we see in our clinical experience day to day," LCCC First Year Nursing Student Monica Mackie said.

Students will use the technology to practice inputting patient information, checking administrative records to make sure they are giving out the correct medications, and other procedures.

The laptops and barcode scanners will be used alongside the school's interactive mannequins to simulate patient situations.

These are all skills they'll use when they go into the field, something school leaders say is crucial.

"Students have to be at their best when it comes to technology, so Luzerne County Community College wants to make sure their students have every tool at their disposal that they can be the best," said LCCC President John Yudichak.

With technology rapidly changing, instructors say it's important for students to stay up to date, to ensure the best practices, and the best care for their future patients.

"In today's environment there are a lot of medication errors being made and computer systems have been put into place to help alleviate some of these errors and so by us having that technology and so by us having that technology here at Luzerne County Community College, we're able to better serve the community and to be efficient and proficient when we graduate from the college," LCCC Nursing Instructor Darin Ambosie stated.

The laptops were made possible with the help of donations from the Yudichak Family Fund of the Luzerne Foundation and Allone Foundation.