Hands-on Learning

Transcript

At Sacred Heart, students leave feeling ready to tackle their career and a big part of that is due to the hands-on style of teaching. Let’s head over to the Center for Healthcare Education, a state of the art facility and home to SHU’s College of Nursing and College of Health Profession to talk with Winnie, who earned her undergraduate and graduate degrees here at SHU. Winnie, please take it away.

– Thanks Alex. I came to Sacred Heart for the small close-knit environment. I went to a small high school, where I was not only given the individual attention from my teachers, but the opportunity to build strong, intimate relationships with them as well and at SHU, I got exactly that and much, much more. I knew Sacred Heart was a place where I could learn, grow and cultivate the life skills that I would need in any professional setting. During my time here at Sacred Heart, I was able to express myself through a variety of activities like playing the snare drum in the SHU marching band, dancing in the ensemble, being an orientation leader and so much more. The Center of Healthcare Education was my home during my undergraduate and graduate studies. Our professors aren’t just in the classroom, they’re diligently conducting research to ensure that the education that they’re providing to their students is ahead of the curve and a constantly progressing field. Throughout my studies, we had a medical mannequin that could mimic human emotion and any physical ailments, such as coughing, wheezing, vomiting. You could take its vitals, you could provide oxygen and in the case of performing CPR, there’s a computer attached to the mannequin that actually shows you the depth and timing of each chest compression. In any health science or healthcare curriculum, a hands-on portion is absolutely crucial. Imagine learning how to tape an ankle and not applying that knowledge until after you’ve graduated. Now you’re in the workforce and you’re unable to do your job. It is so, so important to provide a practical application outside of the classroom, in order to put to practice what we’ve learned inside the classroom. SHU gives students the opportunity to work within their field on campus as well. I had the privilege of being an intern, then graduate assistant at the SHU Fit Health and Wellness center. The athletic training lab here has everything that an athletic training student would need. My clinical rotations were diverse and I was put in a variety of settings, such as public and private high schools, D-1 and D-2 collegiate settings and even a concussion research center where I continued to work with all kinds of individuals and athletes. Being challenged in the classroom, applying that classroom learning to a clinical setting and being supported by the professors every step of the way is why I’ll forever be grateful for completing both my bachelor’s and master’s here at Sacred Heart University. Thanks for letting me share my story, back to you, Alex.

– What awesome facilities and experiences. Winnie you are destined to do great things and the best part is you don’t have to be a student in the health professions to experience this type of hands-on learning. It’s incredible to see SHU strive to engage every one of their students this way no matter the major. Really great, thanks again for that Winnie.