“It’s something that’s been long overdue,” said Michael Lundin, TRU’s director of simulation-based learning. “Bringing simulation-based learning to communities and to people that want to do healthcare training in the communities is a really important factor of giving access to education.”
With the mobile training unit, TRU says it will be able to provide students living in BC’s rural areas in-person clinical training in their own communities.
“Barriers for people that are in small communities might be that they have their family that’s associated with them there, so bringing the training to them is less disruption to them and their community,” explained Lundin. “Also it allows people to have access to education in the community themselves, not disrupting their family, making it more accessible – it’s a huge benefit to everybody.”
TRU healthcare assistant student Scarlett Olsen says having access to a lab like this one means she’s more prepared to enter the workforce.
“It’s given me some confidence going into my health profession and it’s showing me what I’ll be doing on a day-to-day basis,” Olsen told CFJC News. “I’ve been able to familiarize myself with the equipment I’ll be using and get a sense of the flow in the lab.”
In the self-sufficient unit, students can practice on various equipment, including taking vitals and using patient lifts.
“It’s crucial. I mean, it’s an essential part of our job and being comfortable with the equipment,” said Olsen. “[It] ensures our patients are safe and ensures we have comfort in the tasks that we’re doing so that we don’t create any unnecessary stress for our clients.”
According to Lundin, increasing access to healthcare education is the first step in addressing the shortage of health care workers in the province.
“It’s going to support increase in healthcare workers – giving people access to education in their communities is going to give them that opportunity to actually be able to do that training,” said Lundin.
“We don’t know the social dynamics for a lot of people, but if you’re supporting your family and you’re doing things, having to come to a different community to do your hands-on training is a big barrier for even maybe signing up for it in the first place.”
The first stop for TRU’s lab on wheels is 100 Mile House.
“100 Mile House is our first plan that we’re looking at doing for a trial run,” said Lundin. “And then the sky’s the limit for BC for where we bring the training to.”
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