Florida State College's simulation center could fix the Florida nurse shortage

With the help of the taxpayers and a new simulation center, Florida State College in Jacksonville is hoping to help fill the Florida nurse shortage.

Florida State College’s North Campus in Jacksonville has recently inaugurated their newest Medical Simulation Center. The Florida $2.2 milion appropriation paid for a new simulation center to let medical students get the hands-on training they need.

The facility is designed to simulate a real hospital. Students will get hands-on training before stepping into real-life hospital setting. Medical simulation dummies will be readily available for students to practice a broad range of medical emergency situations.

Florida could inevitably face detrimental impacts to their healthcare system and have Floridians’ access to care reduced. The Florida Center for Nursing Projects has projected the state could face a nurse shortage by 2025.

To avoid the shortage, the Legislature appropriated $2.2 million to help establish the new medical simulation center.

In addition to the medical simulation dummies, the center includes a virtual reality lab where students have a handful of training equipment available including Oculus VR headsets and even emergency vehicle driving simulators.

“This virtual reality lab definitely will attract more students here. There’s not that many virtual reality medical labs around,” FSCJ Simulation Lab coordinator Michael Franklin said in an interview with Action News Jax.

The school will not only combat the nursing shortage abut also attract nursing students to Jacksonville and hopefully find local statewide nursing positions.

Source: Action News Jax