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Simulation and Clinical Performance Lab

Now more than ever, we need nurses. Our nation faces a critical nursing shortage as the demand for health care grows and the approximately 76 million Baby Boomers age, requiring specialized care. And Texas is not exempt—the Texas Department of State Health Services projects a significant shortage of all nurse types by 2030.

As nursing programs across Houston enroll more students to help alleviate the shortage, clinical sites are reaching capacity and closing opportunities for students to meet their clinical training requirements. To open more opportunities, the Texas Board of Nursing allows students to substitute 50% of traditional clinical hours for high-quality simulation experiences.

Simulation and Clinical Performance Lab

The Simulation and Clinical Practice Lab (Sim Lab) at Cizik School of Nursing is vital to securing the future of nursing in Texas. When combined with classroom instruction and clinical experiences, the Sim Lab helps educate and train nurses who are more efficient and more confident as they care for families throughout Houston and the state of Texas.

The 27,000 square foot Sim Lab provides myriad learning situations using lifelike manikins and contains high-fidelity equipment that replicates challenging clinical scenarios. Beginner students practice basic skills like taking vital signs and advanced students hone sophisticated skills like placing chest tubes. The Sim Lab can also mimic scenarios that occur infrequently during rotations, preparing our students to care for patients with common and uncommon conditions. A realistic environment in the lab encourages students to think critically and enhances their confidence in stressful situations, leading to enhanced patient care. Because faculty members supervise these scenarios, students also receive immediate feedback, helping them to learn from each experience.

In addition to helping us train future nurses, the Sim Lab can be used for continuing medical education courses, process development, and a broad spectrum of research opportunities.

Your support ofMany Faces. One Mission.can help sustain the Sim Lab so that we can provide the best possible training for the next generation of nurses.

  • By the Numbers

    • The Sim Lab is open 12 hours a day, six days a week.
    • 多达50%的学生临床小时可能路径替换ituted for experiences in the Sim Lab.
    • The Sim Lab accommodates approximately 3,000 student visits each semester.

  • Education

    Technology advances quickly, and to produce nurses who are competitive and confident in the field, we need to educate them in a facility that houses the latest technologies. Through the Sim Lab, we replicate challenging clinical scenarios and offer many learning situations using advanced technology. In addition to training our students, the lab allows us to provide continuing education hours for medical practitioners and educational programs for organizations in the community.

  • Research and Training Opportunities

    The Sim Lab is a unique resource for partnering with other organizations to conduct research or test new technologies or medical devices. Simulation allows researchers to repeat situations and environments to collect accurate data. Additionally, manikins provide detailed feedback that leads to greater confidence in research results. Medical professionals and organizations can also use the Sim Lab to complete competency training, evaluations, and certifications as well as to analyze processes and identify inefficiencies and problems.

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