New project officer for new Simulation Learning Environment
Laurea Atkinson brings a background in the post-anaesthetic /anaesthetic field and adult pain management to her role in the recently upgraded simulation suite in Bairnsdale.
Along with its new simulation training facilities established during this year, East Gippsland Regional Clinical School has recently welcomed a new Simulation Learning Project Officer, Laurea Atkinson.
The School this year secured a simulation grant from Health Workforce Australia to support clinical training in East Gippsland using simulation learning modalities.
The grant funded the purchase of a variety of mannequins that can be borrowed for clinical training. Some of the mannequins such as SimMan 3G, SimMom and SimNewb are utilised for high fidelity simulation and not easily transported, and are therefore housed in the Simulation Suite at East Gippsland Regional Clinical School.
Laurea’s new role as Project Officer will complement the new equipment. A registered nurse, she moved from Queensland in 2009 having worked in the post anaesthetic / anaesthetic field for 15 years.
Since moving to Bairnsdale, Laurea has been a Project Officer at the local health service for the “redesign of the elective surgery waiting lists” and worked closely with senior staff there to establish a centralised elective surgery bookings office in 2011.
Her special interests are in pain management and Laurea worked with the Acute Pain Service at the Princess Alexandra Hospital in Brisbane for two years, also completing Assessing and Managing Adult Pain as a unit of study.
Laurea has now completed the Certificate IV Workplace Training and Assessment, in 2010, and is enthusiastic and positive about the Simulation Learning Environment Project and working with Marnie Connolly.
“The project and equipment brings advanced simulation learning opportunities for the multidisciplinary team in the East Gippsland region,” Laurea said. “It is an exciting and inspiring opportunity to be part of the project at Monash and have the 3g simulation equipment in the rural sector. The team at EGRCS are most inspiring and I am proud to be part of the school.”
The list of sim equipment at East Gippsland is impressive. It includes SimMan 3G, SimMom, SimNewbi, an Adult ALS Simulator, Baby ALS Simulator, EZ-IO Drill education kit, C-MAC video laryngoscope, two airway management trainers, two Vascular Access Peter PICC, two Vascular Access Chester Chest and four Adult Intravenous training arms.