Nurse instructors invited to present work at conference

Assabet Valley Regional Technical High School nursing instructors (l to r) Kathleen Ashe and Ellen Santos show off their work at an education conference. PHOTO/SUBMITTED

Marlborough - Two Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN) instructors from Assabet Valley Regional Technical High School (AVRTHS) were accepted to present their work at the annual nursing education conference in San Francisco, Cal. Attendees were present from across the country representing all levels of nursing. Most of the attendees were from four-year nursing colleges and universities, so instructors Kathleen Ashe, MSN, RN, and Ellen Santos, MSN, RN, were pleased to be invited to share a poster presentation.

"We may have been the only high school with that distinction, or one of the very few," Ashe said. "It was gratifying to see the interest in our poster and we had a few requests to arrange a visit to our facility."

Ashe and Santos submitted an abstract summarizing the two-year project at AVRTHS integrating Human Patient Simulation (HPS) into the Practical Nurse Program.

"What makes us unique is our ability to incorporate 30-plus students in a simulation exercise, using a second classroom to involve the entire class," Santos said. "We were careful to maintain the integrity of our program while incorporating the technology of HPS."

The project was made possible through the support of the entire school.

"We really used the 'it takes a village' approach," Ashe said. "The drafting students helped with design; carpentry, electrical wiring, plumbing, and painting and design technologies built and finished the patient rooms and control room; and the design and visual communications students set up the cameras for the live feed to the classroom.

"Now we can do a simulation exercise with a few students, but the entire class is involved as they watch and take notes from across the hall. We were fortunate to have the full support of our Director, Rose Veith, APRN, FNP, as well the AVRTHS administration."

Ashe was pleased to hear during the keynote address by Maria O'Rourke, RN, of the University of San Francisco, that there is a definite job market out there for those students who go through an LPN program and then become a Registered Nurse or receive a bachelor's degree in nursing.