Page 16 - College Planning & Management, March 2019

Facilities CAMPUS SPACES
Experiential Learning in the Health Sciences
Design strategies to support learning are smoothing the transition from learning environment to care setting for health care training.
BY LARRY SCHNUCK, AIA
HOW AND WHERE health care services are delivered is changing. Care is often provided
by nurses, physician assistants (PAs), and other professionals without an “M.D.” behind their names. More high-level care is being delivered in ambulatory facilities and routine care is increasingly being provided in patients’ homes. A team-based approach, in which professionals from various disci- plines collaborate to provide a best-practice approach to individualized patient care, is being implemented at all levels.
These changes are impacting how the next generation of health care professionals are being trained, with a growing emphasis being placed on experiential learning. This approach combines the hands-on practice that has always been part of health sciences education with in-depth reflection—ob- serving what happens during an exercise, receiving feedback, assessing the process, and understanding how to apply this
knowledge in the future.
The design of health sciences education
facilities must support this approach. This article highlights key factors to consider when building or updating a facility.
Realistic Simulation Labs
Practice in a well-designed simulation lab helps ensure a student’s successful transition from classroom to clinical set- ting. Simulation labs provide a risk-free environment where students can develop their diagnostic skills, work with current technology, learn best practices related to
patient safety, and gain experience collabo- rating with other professionals. Following are some design guidelines:
1. Reflect Providers’ Facilities.
Many of a college or university’s gradu- ates remain in the community and work for local providers. Therefore, it makes sense to model simulation labs after those providers’ facilities. For example: Are patient rooms equipped with headwalls or mobile booms? Is charting done bedside on a tablet, on a laptop rolled into the room on a cart, or at a fixed station outside the room? If new graduates enter a workplace
16 COLLEGE PLANNING & MANAGEMENT / MARCH 2019
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PHOTOS COURTESY OF KAHLER SLATER