At Notre Dame of Maryland University in Baltimore, two rooms hold life-like adult mannequins with the ability to breathe, blink and even sweat.
Despite their slightly creepy, near-humanlike demeanor, the mannequins are a critical part of the hands on training student nurses go through before getting their degree.
More students may be using these mannequins now that Notre Dame of Maryland University (NDMU) and Mount St. Mary’s University (MSMU) are teaming up to smooth the pipeline for nursing students.
In a new agreement, the two Catholic schools will allow MSMU students finishing their Health Science degrees to matriculate directly into NDMU for a 15-month Bachelor of Nursing degree. Students get two degrees in about five years.
After completing the program, students can take the test to become registered nurses.
Students can take courses at NDMU or choose a hybrid option where they take online classes and come to NDMU’s Elkridge campus for clinical experiences.
Marylou Yam, president of Notre Dame of Maryland University, said the in-person training is critical to giving nursing students the experience they need.
However, Maryland is in a serious healthcare worker shortage, especially for nurses.
“According to the Maryland Hospital Association, one in every four hospital nursing positions is vacant,” Yam said Tuesday during a press conference on the school’s campus. “We will need over 13,000 nurses in the state by 2035. As a registered nurse myself, I know firsthand the positive impact that professional nursing has on patients’ healthcare outcomes, health policy and research.”
Both schools hope the partnership will combat that problem.
April Boss and Averee Radonovich are both current nursing students at NDMU.
“My mom was a pediatric ER nurse, so I grew up hearing a lot of her crazy stories,” Radonovich said. “Somehow it still encouraged me to go into nursing and then senior year high school I had the opportunity to shadow in my local ER and really fell in love with it.”
Both students are currently interning at local healthcare facilities and plan to continue with a career in nursing.
