Sacred Heart University’s Center for Healthcare Education Provides Hands-on Experiences for Students

Looking for real-world experience? SHU’s state-of-the-art facilities provide students with exactly that.

Home to Sacred Heart University’s College of Health Professions and Dr. Susan L. Davis, R.N., & Richard J. Henley College of Nursing (DHCON), the Center for Healthcare Education (CHE) is designed to offer students with aspirations in any health-care profession the best possible learning environment to ensure they are prepared to succeed. With collaborative spaces and advanced technology, students studying in the CHE get a taste of how professionals in their prospective field treat patients.

Read below to learn how each program utilizes the facilities.

Master of Science in Exercise & Sport Science

SHU’s MS in exercise & sport science program trains students to not only be a practitioner capable of eliciting the highest level of athletic performance from athletes or clients, but it also trains students in the instrumentation and data analysis skills they need to become a professional sport scientist. The following laboratories are used by students in the program to build on and practice these skills.

Strength & Conditioning Laboratory

This laboratory serves as an applied science facility for the Pioneer Performance Center, which focuses on improving sports performance. There are six custom-built strength racks and two instrumented platforms for data collection used by students to learn how to train athletes through best-practice strength and conditioning methods. This lab contains force plate technology, isometric strength testing, velocity-based training devices and high-speed camera analysis.

Motion Analysis Laboratory

This laboratory contains equipment focused on biomechanics and the physics of human movement. A custom-built 3-D markerless motion capture system has embedded force plates for detailed analysis of human movement. In addition, there are two instrumented treadmills for analyzing running gait and performance metrics. The lab can explore various sports and athletes and provide a biomechanical assessment of various sporting movements.

Human Performance Laboratory

This laboratory contains equipment focused on exploring physiological changes within athletes. It includes body composition measuring devices, metabolic carts for measuring V02 max and lactate threshold and hydration monitoring. The laboratory serves as a testing space for rowing, running and cycling and can measure various performance metrics from athletes in those disciplines.

Doctor of Physical Therapy

The curriculum in SHU’s doctor of physical therapy program emphasizes clinical decision-making, self-directed learning and hands-on and real-world experience. The laboratories described below allow students in this program to gain experience in treating patients with various ailments.

Musculoskeletal Laboratory

This laboratory is used to learn and practice the various skills involved in the examination and treatment of individuals with musculoskeletal pathologies. It is equipped with 20 high-low tables with rolling stools and an extensive collection of contemporary and advanced equipment to facilitate comprehensive physical therapy examination and rehabilitation programs.

Neuro-Cardio Laboratory

This laboratory teaches students how to examine and treat patients with neurological disorders and cardiopulmonary and multisystem involvement, including amputations and cancer. It contains cutting-edge technology including reactive stepping treadmills, several overhead harness/body weight supported harness systems, functional electrical stimulation systems and large mat tables to help students learn the technology prior to entering a clinic.

Human Anatomy Laboratory

Here, students throughout the University can study the human body in depth using human morgue specimens, advanced computer software, anatomically accurate models and computer simulations.

Master of Science in Athletic Training

Students in SHU’s MS in athletic training program get hands-on training and classroom experience needed to evaluate, protect and care for a variety of physically active individuals. The athletic training laboratory is a space for students to gain valuable experience.

Athletic Training Laboratory

In this laboratory, students will gain hands-on experience learning and refining various athletic training skills, ranging from performing clinical examinations, applying various therapeutic modalities, implementing therapeutic exercise plans and using life-saving equipment for the acute management of emergent medical conditions. The laboratory is designed to replicate a functioning athletic training clinic and contains an assortment of live equipment that students would commonly use in the field as practicing clinicians. There are also three high-fidelity simulation mannequins.

Master of Science in Occupational Therapy

SHU’s MS in occupational therapy program offers a value-based educational approach to occupational therapy that is dynamic, engaging and transformative, led by exceptional faculty in state-of-the-art facilities, described below.

The Home Suite

This is a teaching space designed as a typical apartment and has an installed room-to-room lift system, enabling students to practice moving clients from one room to another.

The Driving Simulator

The driving simulator uses highly sophisticated technology. Embedded in the front half of a car, the computer system delivers real-life driving experiences in the safety of an off-road environment for community clients.

The Pediatrics Lab

This is a large teaching space outfitted with the kind of sensory motor equipment found in a sensory integration clinic. Students develop competencies in pediatric equipment, tools and materials for assessment and practice purposes.

Master of Science in Speech-Language Pathology

Students in SHU’s MS in speech-language pathology (SLP) program gain hands-on, clinical experience needed to become a certified speech-language pathologist and make an impact on the lives of clients through on-campus and externship placements. Among the on-campus facilities they use are the audiology clinic and speech-language pathology lab.

The Audiology Clinic

This facility delivers full-service hearing health care to all ages of the SHU community and surrounding Bridgeport and Fairfield communities. Under the supervision of an audiologist, students in the program can accrue required clinical hours in audiology and aural rehabilitation. The clinic aims to provide inter-professional opportunities for students to observe and learn about appropriate diagnosis and treatment for people with hearing loss and communication challenges.

The Speech Lab

Students in the SLP program provide speech and language services for children and adults in the Speech Lab supervised by licensed SLP faculty. Through on-campus clinical experiences, students learn how to provide evidence-based, person-centered diagnostic and treatment services to benefit people across the lifespan with a range of communication disorders. Students also provide education for caregivers and members of the community to support loved ones with communication disorders.

Family Nurse Practitioner Doctor of Nursing Practice & Post-Master's Doctor of Nursing Practice

SHU’s DHCON offers a family nurse practitioner doctor of nursing practice program (DNP-FNP) and a post-master's doctor of nursing practice program (PM-DNP). The FNP-DNP program is designed for students who wish to acquire the skills, experience and expertise to work as advanced nurse practitioners in primary family-centered care. Students in the PM-DNP program explore the interrelationships between policy, advocacy and ethics on clinical practice and the processes for patient safety and communication of medical trends and statistics. They both use the nursing simulation suite to put these concepts into practice.

The Nursing Simulation Suite

This facility provides students with an authentic experience, so they feel comfortable once they are practitioners in the field. Students learn on the same equipment they will use in hospital ambulatory care settings.

Master of Science in Physician Assistant Studies

SHU’s MS in physician assistant studies program prepares individuals to practice medicine in collaboration with a licensed physician, in compliance with the Physician Assistant Profession Competencies described and accepted by the profession. The Tandet Center on Stamford Hospital’s campus is home to the program and its advanced technologies.

CAE Learning Space

This is a web-based platform that aides in the student mastery of clinical practices in the MCPAS program. It is used as a recording device for students to complete their observed structured clinical examinations, providing a safe, realistic and effective training environment for students in various courses.

Anatomage Table

The anatomage table is a technologically advanced system that allows for the display of life-sized human anatomy reconstructed from human cadavers. It combines specialized software for virtual dissection and case-based learning of abnormal pathology. The ability to explore multiple anatomy structures more efficiently and the viewing of various angles not possible in cadaver-based instruction are only some of the many advantages of this new technology.

Simulation Equipment

• Next Generation Harvey: The Cardiopulmonary Patient Simulator realistically simulates nearly any cardiac disease at the touch of a button by varying blood pressure, pulses, heart sounds, murmurs and breath sounds.
• CAE Apollo: This high-infidelity adult patient simulator accelerates learning, decreases time to proficiency and increases debriefing efficacy through automated and relevant patient responses.
• CAE Juno: This mid-fidelity simulator is designed to offer comprehensive training for clinical nursing skills, including tracheostomy, ostomy and oral care.

Patient Assessment Suite

The Patient Assessment Suite holds eight examination rooms simulating medical offices where students practice history and physical examination skills. Four of the rooms have a CAE recording system that allows faculty to video record practicums and provide feedback to students.

Are you interested in studying in SHU’s College of Health Professions or College of Nursing?

With access to these impressive facilities, students in these colleges are well prepared to enter the field once they graduate from their programs. For more information, make an appointment with Lea DiStasio or reach out at distasiol2@sacredheart.edu.