The Nursing Clinical Education Center (NCEC), a simulation lab jointly run by University of Iowa Health Care Nursing Services and Patient Care and the University of Iowa College of Nursing, recently received full accreditation in the area of Teaching/Education from the Society of Simulation in Healthcare (SSH). This 5 1/2-year accreditation recognizes Iowa’s excellence in simulation education and adherence to best practices.
“As we saw simulation becoming an increasingly significant part of nursing education, we began gathering evidence for the accreditation process,” says Katie Knox, PhD, RN, CHSE, NCEC co-director and College of Nursing clinical assistant professor. “Accreditation provides recognition of our adherence to best practices in simulation, validation of the work and expertise of our educators and staff, and continuous performance improvement within the simulation center.”
Lou Ann Montgomery, PhD, MAN, RN, NPD-BC, FAAN, co-director of the NCEC and associate chief nursing officer at UI Health Care adds, “We are very proud of the NCEC nursing team from the Department of Nursing and the College of Nursing who have been working toward this accreditation for some years now. It validates what we already knew to be true - this is an exceptional environment for our many learners as they learn to deliver high quality, safe care to our patients.”
Covering 20,000 square-feet, the NCEC brings together practicing clinicians, nurse educators, and faculty, all focused on providing the very best in nursing education for learners at all levels. The facility includes an 11-room clinical simulation lab for learners to experience nursing care in specialty and clinical scenarios, three classrooms, two conference rooms, a computer lab, and a library.
SSH was established in 2004 with the goal of improving performance and reducing errors in patient care using multi-modal simulation. Since 2010, SSH has conducted accreditation reviews of processes and outcomes in such areas as assessment, research, teaching/education, and systems integration within simulation programs. It has accredited more than 100 programs across ten countries and is the largest healthcare simulation accrediting body in the world.
“I am continually impressed with the great work the team at the NCEC does every day to ensure a positive learning experience for our students,” says College of Nursing Kelting Dean Julie Zerwic, PhD, RN, FAHA, FAAN. “This accreditation reaffirms what those of us who work with the NCEC team already know – the University of Iowa offers state-of-the-art, ‘gold standard’ learning and continuing education opportunities to our students and University of Iowa Health Care nurses.”