Health Innovation Technology & Simulation Program

The Health Innovation Technology and Simulation (HITS) Program of the College of Nursing is accredited in both education and research through the Society of Simulation in Healthcare (SSiH). The program is a joint inter-professional endeavor between the Tickle College of Engineering and the College of Nursing. Accreditation by SSiH ensures all simulation activities and research follows best standards of simulation. 

The HITS program has 2 foci:

• To prepare learners through simulation education, and
• To engage in research that further advances knowledge about healthcare simulation, innovations, and technologies.

The HITS program includes leadership for both research and education offerings. The Co-Directors for research are Tami Wyatt and Xueping Li. Overseeing all simulation educational activities is the assistant dean of simulation, Susan H. Hébert.

The HITS educational program uses state of the art simulation and healthcare technologies to support simulation education for inter-professional learning. The HITS research program tests and generates healthcare technologies, applications, and intellectual properties that aim to improve healthcare and healthcare education. 

Mission:

The HITS Program aims to provide excellent educational offerings and advance the science of healthcare simulation by ensuring experiential simulated learning opportunities and research and development of innovative simulation technologies for healthcare and healthcare education uphold the best practices of healthcare simulation.

Vision Statement:

Leading Care. Creating Partnerships. Improving Health.

Simulation Education

The simulation education program in the College of Nursing offers innovative simulation clinical experiences to train psychomotor skills, physical assessment, and clinical care applied in practice. Simulation is incorporated into every clinical course within the undergraduate and graduate programs providing nursing scholars opportunities to acquire the necessary skills and behaviors incorporated in clinical practice situations. The high-fidelity simulation lab mimics realistic clinical settings, and simulation activities are planned in this controlled environment to promote attainment of essential nursing competencies.

The College of Nursing simulation spaces are located in five separate locations across campus: 

• The high-fidelity HITS Lab located at 1818 Andy Holt Ave. in Temple Hall.
• A skills training Learning Lab on the basement floor of Service Building A at 2233 Volunteer Boulevard.
• A specialized Physical Assessment Lab located at 2233 Volunteer Blvd. in Service Building C.
• A flexible simulation lab space in the basement level of the Nursing Education Building at 1412 Circle Drive.
• A satellite location in the Innovation North building at Cherokee Farms to primarily support the BSN Scholars Program.

Simulation and HITS Program Team Members