Virtual Clinical Excursions 3. 0 for Fundamental Concepts and Skills for Nursing

Book excerpt: This dynamic and engaging workbook/CD-ROM package guides users through Pacific View Regional Hospital - a multi-level, virtual hospital setting in which students meet and care for a set of highly complex and diverse patients. The VCE workbook acts as a map, guiding users through the interactive setting as they care for patients in the virtual hospital and draw connections between these nursing experiences and their textbook discussions. Each workbook lesson includes a reading assignment from Fundamental Concepts and Skills for Nursing, 2nd Edition and activities that tie in with the accompanying software. Virtual Clinical Excursions equips users with the practical knowledge and skills needed for clinical rotations, while sharpening the decision-making skills that will help them set priorities for care, collect and interpret data, prepare and administer medications, and reach conclusions about patient problems. Meaningful, real-world problems place users in nursing scenarios where they can set priorities for care, collect data, analyze and interpret data, and reach conclusions about complex problems within a health-illness transition. The highly-engaging format encourages active learning and provides opportunities to identify information to collect and process data for evidence-based patient care; work with data entry and retrieval screens; optimize use of available information resources; understand hospital information systems; manage information for decision-making; and maintain and improve core computing skills. Lessons in the workbook complement the content in the textbook and guide the student through the virtual hospital. Includes NCLEX examination-style questions that offer built-in testing of clinical knowledge. The CD-ROM offers users the opportunity to visit each patient and access realistic information essential for patient care, including: charts, medical administration records, electronic patient records, video clips of nurse-client interactions, and other related materials. A clock icon appears under each lesson, estimating how much time it will take to complete. A linkage icon alerts the user whenever they are about to begin an exercise that connects with previous lessons. The elimination of third-party plug-ins facilitates fast and easy software installation. Flash-based technology allows for more ease of use and seamless navigation. Greater faculty support with the addition of the FAC PAC, a new instructors' website, and a radically expanded testing component. A medication administration feature enables users to select, prepare, and administer medications. Over 50 common medication errors imbedded within the software to boost clinical realism and prepare students for current practice. A Medication Room that contains a wide variety of drug storage areas, such as a Unit Dosage Cabinet, Automated Dispensing System, IV Storage, and a Refrigerator. 6 unique patients/cases, each with complex medical-surgical conditions for students to care for and monitor within the virtual hospital.