Delaware County First Community College in Country with Virtual Laparoscopic Training Simulator
Delaware County Community College faculty and staff receive training on using the LapSim® 2015, a virtual laparoscopic training simulator that helps students to become better, more capable practitioners. The College is the first community college in the country to acquire this simulator.
(Delaware and Chester Counties, PA • October 8, 2015)—Delaware County Community College is proud to be the first community college in the country, and one of the only colleges in the Philadelphia region, to have acquired the LapSim® 2015, a virtual laparoscopic training simulator that helps students to become better, more capable practitioners. Considered the industry’s highest quality system, the LapSim® 2015 is the latest addition to the College’s state-of-the-art Simulation Lab and will benefit all students in the surgical arena, including those in the Perioperative Nursing, RN First Assistant and Surgical Technology programs.
“We are thrilled to be the first community college in the country to have acquired this simulator, which will enhance students’ experience by decreasing stress, providing a method for surgical procedure scenarios, facilitating team building and enhancing understanding of complex instrumentation,” says Jacqueline Bak, Director of Perioperative Programs at the College.
“Delaware County Community College students are receiving an innovative and cutting-edge education preparing them for employment upon graduation. High-quality simulation is necessary to ensure students are learning the required protocols for simple and complicated procedures during their educational experiences here at the College,” adds Sharvette Law Philmon, Interim Dean of Allied Health, Emergency Services and Nursing. “For example, students must learn manual dexterity skills for competency to avoid internal hemorrhaging and other surgical complications within these programs. This controlled simulated setting affords true learning in a low stakes environment. Ultimately, we are ensuring that our students are receiving relevant and up-to-date education for clinical practice. We want our clinical partners to know that we are student and patient centered and it is our responsibility to set this foundation from day one. That is our goal for our graduates here at the College.”
The LapSim® 2015 provides a real surgical experience to students and professors, and helps students become comfortable working as a team in surgical scenarios. The College has the Appendectomy Module, which introduces students to one of the most frequently performed surgeries in hospital operating rooms. This module is scenario-based and continually challenges trainees’ procedural knowledge and decision-making skills with extensive pathology variations and complications.
Funding for the LapSim® was provided by the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Improvement Act and is administered by the PA Department of Education, Bureau of Career and Technical Education.
