{"id":235846,"date":"2026-04-17T17:01:21","date_gmt":"2026-04-17T17:01:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/235846\/"},"modified":"2026-04-17T17:01:21","modified_gmt":"2026-04-17T17:01:21","slug":"local-college-uses-simulated-hospital-rooms-to-fight-nursing-shortage","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/235846\/","title":{"rendered":"Local college uses simulated hospital rooms to fight nursing shortage"},"content":{"rendered":"

PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. (CBS12) \u2014 Indian River State College<\/a> is turning to high-tech simulation to address a critical nursing shortage that has left Florida more than 16,000 nurses short of its current needs. <\/p>\n

At its Pruitt Campus, the college is training the next generation of healthcare professionals in 1:1 scale hospital rooms that mirror real-life clinical environments.<\/p>\n

These immersive labs allow students to practice life-saving skills in scenarios ranging from emergency room crises to labor and delivery before they ever interact with a live patient. The state-of-the-art facility, which opened in 2023, features advanced teaching mannequins capable of simulating various medical conditions and wounds.<\/p>\n

Students go through a range of high-stakes scenarios, from labor and delivery to emergencies like cardiac arrest. During these simulations, students must act quickly under pressure, performing the same steps expected in a real emergency. <\/p>\n

See also: Teachers union challenges timing of final pay hearing in Palm Beach County<\/a><\/p>\n

Patricia Gagliano<\/a>, Executive Dean of Health and Sciences at IRSC, explained the intent behind the design: \u201cThis type of unit mirrors a hospital, and that was purposeful. In order to ensure that the experiences that they have before they go to clinical, and while they’re with us, prepare them to be successful.\u201d<\/p>\n

For students like Savannah Joiner, that hands-on experience makes all the difference in their education. <\/p>\n

\u201cBeing able to utilize the sim lab is really great for students because they can get hands-on and be able to prep themselves for when they go out into the field,\u201d Joiner said. Manny<\/p>\n

Manny Rodriguez, a second-semester nursing student who also works at a local hospital, says the hands-on training provides a necessary bridge between theory and practice.<\/p>\n

“Here, you’re putting the actual lecture, the theory, and the on-hands,\u201d Rodriguez said. \u201cSo when you’re out there in the field, you already have a baseline like a foundation for what you are expected to do and what your role is in the team.\u201d<\/p>\n

School leaders have recently expanded the center to include specialized units like behavioral health to better prepare students for the evolving demands of the healthcare field. <\/p>\n

With Florida projected to face even steeper shortfalls by 2035, the college is focused on growing its enrollment to pump more qualified graduates into Treasure Coast hospitals. By providing a controlled environment for high-stakes scenarios, IRSC officials say they can ensure their students enter the workforce with the confidence and competence required to provide high-quality care.<\/p>\n

The pressure on these programs is mounting, as data shows only about 7 percent of Florida\u2019s current nursing workforce is under the age of 30. School leaders say they are working to grow the program and train even more students to meet this demand. <\/p>\n

College leadership is currently looking at ways to increase enrollment without sacrificing the quality of training provided in these realistic settings, ensuring that the foundation students receive prepares them for the specific roles they will fill in a healthcare team.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. (CBS12) \u2014 Indian River State College is turning to high-tech simulation to address a…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":235847,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[171,173,172],"class_list":["post-235846","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-port-st-lucie","tag-port-st-lucie","tag-port-st-lucie-headlines","tag-port-st-lucie-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/235846","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=235846"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/235846\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/235847"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=235846"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=235846"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=235846"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}