Wilson College Online Blog

When Pamela Hollenbach came to Wilson College in 2019, she’d been a registered nurse (RN) for over 30 years and a college educator for 12. In the classroom and in the field, her clinical specialty is women’s health. She has practiced as a women’s health and adult nurse practitioner, and she is also nationally certified as a nurse educator, an inpatient maternal child nurse, and a certified childbirth educator.

In addition to teaching, Hollenbach is the coordinator of all Wilson College Online nursing programs. She’s brought exciting new technologies to Wilson and helped her colleagues build a community based on clinical excellence and support.

Using Simulation Technology to Build Skills and Confidence

In their last three semesters, students in Wilson’s online Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN) to Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) program come to campus to practice their skills. Before working in real-world clinical settings, though, they get the chance to practice using simulation technology — with mannequins that can talk (in Hollenbach’s voice at times), give birth, and suffer seizures.

Hollenbach was instrumental in enhancing the simulation experiences in the LPN to BSN program in the Maternal Child Nursing course at Wilson.

“Before coming to Wilson, I worked at a facility that had just built a state of the art simulation center. So I had a lot of background in the use of simulation technology. When I first came to Wilson I said, ‘Can we purchase some additional mannequins to help with our Women’s Health/Pediatric course,’” she said. “Our director at the time went to one of the local hospitals to ask for assistance and that organization provided our program with a donation to purchase some additional simulation equipment.”

However, this wasn’t Hollenbach’s first experience with simulation technology. As a Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) student, she conducted research that gives her and her colleagues invaluable insights into how to help students get the most out of the experience.

Overcoming Simulation Anxiety

The main benefit of integrating simulations into nursing education is that students can practice a full range of new skills in a controlled environment. Ideally, this helps students gain confidence before practicing on real patients, but in her research, Hollenbach found that’s not always the case.

What Hollenbach discovered was that students were more nervous for the simulation lab than they were that first day in the hospital. “They had fears of making mistakes during simulation experiences and felt they were not prepared and did not know what to expect when participating in the simulation experience,” she said. “Also, they felt awkward interacting with a mannequin that talks!”

This fear is often especially common among licensed practical nurses with experience. To overcome it, Hollenbach talks about her findings with students before they start simulation training. She reminds them that this is the best time to make mistakes, that mistakes are both expected and part of the learning process.

Building a Community of Support

Despite being a nursing veteran, Hollenbach hasn’t forgotten what it’s like to be a nursing student. That perspective guides how she and her colleagues structure Wilson’s nursing programs and serve their students.

“A lot of our students, when they’re in the program, they’re working hard. They’re working jobs. They have kids. They have crises in their life and it is very challenging,” she said. “So sometimes there’s that fear that they can’t do it, but our faculty is the best faculty I have ever worked with. I have never seen a faculty work so hard for the students to help them be successful.”

While students who are completely new to nursing often reach out for help, Hollenbach emphasizes that Wilson’s faculty are there for more experienced students, too. She knows full well that working professionals can have gaps in their knowledge — and like making mistakes in the simulation lab, that’s nothing to be ashamed about.

“Students often hesitate to reach out for help. I really try to encourage my students to reach out before they get below water,” she said. “They may have learned something in their LPN program, but forgot because they’re not practicing it. They may be working in a field where they may have not put a catheter in for 10 years.”

Meeting Students Where They’re At

As much as Hollenbach encourages students to reach out when they need help, she and her colleagues work hard to make sure no one falls through the cracks. One way they accomplish that is by using virtual simulation software from the Assessment Technologies Institute (ATI).

“ATI is a resource that our students have as part of their tuition where they do virtual simulations, watch simulations, and answer questions or critically think or be tested after it,” she explained. “In the summer, I use that for my women’s health course.”

Just as important, ATI simulations track statistics about each student. These statistics help nursing instructors identify where students need to improve and whether they’re on track to pass the National Council Licensure Examination (NCLEX).

Find Your Place in Wilson’s Growing, Development-Focused Nursing Community

During her time at Wilson, Pamela Hollenbach, RN, MS, DNP, has worked tirelessly to bring the school’s LPN to BSN nursing program online with a manageable balance of academic rigor and flexibility. With the help of her colleagues, Hollenbach feels they’ve accomplished just that.

“The program has tripled in size and I think that has a lot to do with all the work that faculty has done to really work with students to get them ready for the NCLEX,” she emphasized. “Class success rates for the LPN to BSN program have just really gone off the charts.”

However, as important as NCLEX pass rates are, that’s only one metric by which Hollenbach judges success.

“I’m seeing my LPN students coming back into our MSN program,” she said. “A fair amount of them got their BSN and within a year, they”re coming back into our Nurse Educator or our Nurse Leadership program.”

To find out more about all of Wilson’s fully online nursing programs, request more information today.

Recommended Readings

LPN vs. RN: Comparing Nursing Roles

How to Balance Nursing School and Work

How to Study for the NCLEX