Jones College is transforming health care education with the opening of its new Robert C. Robbins M.D. Hospital Simulation Center on campus.
The $2.5 million training facility offers students at Jones and professionals across the region hands-on experience in a clinical setting. The center is fully equipped with patient rooms, a surgical suite, a radiology area, a neonatal unit and a skills lab.
At the heart of the center are high-tech simulators that mimic human physiology—they can breathe, blink, bleed, sweat and speak. Students use these advanced mannequins to practice skills and respond to complex medical scenarios. Instructors can program the simulators to exhibit seizures and other emergent conditions, providing students with realistic, high-stakes training.
“The students get to know what it’s like to talk to a real patient or a real family member, and they’re able to do skills and treatments,” said Dr. Benji Sessums, dean of Health Sciences at Jones College. “They can actually do all of the things that they would do on a real patient. They can feel the pulses and count how many times they’re breathing. Their pupils will change. The equipment makes this feel like real life. The more these students interact with this real-life training, the more likely they are to provide that care when they finish school.”
The new center opens doors for nursing, emergency medical services (EMS), radiology and pharmacy technician students. Beyond the facility itself, students credit the college’s faculty for the program’s success.
“The instructors at Jones make this program special. They want you to succeed,” said Addison Torrey, a fourth-semester nursing student.
All health care students on campus are available to use the facility. Clinical partners, including South Central Regional Medical Center, utilize the center to further their staff’s education. The center also trains the regional helicopter service that covers parts of Mississippi, Louisiana and Tennessee, and it is available for training by any of Jones College’s affiliated clinical sites.
Robert C. Robbins M.D. Hospital Simulation Center is key to ensuring Jones College and its regional partners continue to train the next generation of highly capable health care professionals. Take a look at it at the Allied Health Center next time on campus.
by Emma Claire Lowe
