Nursing Students Simulate Campus Disaster
The bodies were everywhere, with injuries ranging from superficial to critical. One of the casualties had a severed limb, two were small children, one an infant. Dozens of nurses worked carefully through the disaster site, assessing each individual and providing emergency care. The scene was grisly. . . and in this case, artificial.
On Tuesday, April 22, the Department of Nursing Science hosted the first Senior Nursing Simulation Day at Saint Mary’s College that included a staged disaster. For this particular simulation, a chemical explosion in a college laboratory provided the backdrop for the 57 nursing students who attended to “victims” of the accident. With assistance from the Theatre and Chemistry departments, the worst-case scenario served as a valuable teaching tool.
Coordinator Kylee Rohatgi, DNP, is an assistant professor of Nursing at Saint Mary’s. She said 14 Nursing Science faculty created six simulation stations in and around Regina Hall, home of the Center for Integrated Healthcare Education (CIHE) and the College’s multiple nursing programs.The six simulations built off the disaster, with students caring for patients at the disaster site, as well as five other settings. A pediatric patient, an expectant mother, an acute adult, an emergency room setting with three patients, and an adult in a medical-surgical unit were all victims students treated throughout the day. After they faced each of the stressful scenarios, faculty sat with students to debrief their experience.
“This was our pilot year for the event ,” Rohatgi said. “It seemed to go really well with a lot of enthusiasm and positive feedback from students.”
More than 45 volunteers helped with the event in roles of disaster victims, simulated patients, makeup artists, and logistics. The simulated victims and patients were posed among the College’s collection of high-tech mannequins, each with their own set of injuries.
“Saint Mary’s is well-equipped for this type of simulated drill,” Rohatgi said. “Our nursing students have access to several on-site, state-of-the-art simulation labs. These advanced training rooms contain more than a dozen high-tech medical mannequins that can replicate specific medical emergencies and conditions, including heart attacks and respiratory distress. One is even a laboring mother.”
So realistic are the CIHE simulation labs that regional healthcare provider Beacon Health System announced last summer they would partner with Saint Mary’s College to conduct bi-annual Advanced Trauma Life Support Training for their physicians, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, and residents.
For the Senior Nursing Simulation Day, the combination of human victims and medical mannequins—that have the ability to vocalize—gave an ultra realistic situation for participants.
Rohatgi said organizers utilized supplies from the Chemistry department and props from the Theatre department to help set the scene of the disaster. Senior nursing student Fionnuala Criswell-Carder ’25, who is also a stage manager in the theatre department, designed the disaster scene. Theatre faculty Melissa Bialko coordinated with two professional guest artists to help with moulage—the art of applying mock injuries or other symptoms with makeup for training purposes—and other makeup. Additionally, a panel of five recent graduate-nursing alumnae shared their experiences in different specialties with students.
“We had a team of faculty work on designing this event for the entire academic year,” Rohatgi said. “We had fun planning the event and are collecting more feedback from students to determine what we could do to improve the event for our future students. At Saint Mary’s, we work to create innovative learning opportunities for our students to ensure they are prepared to care for their patients and communities upon graduation, and this event is just one example of that.”
All of the students who participated in the day-long exercise will graduate this year with their bachelor or masters degrees in nursing.
May 6, 2025