New nursing college in Aurora offers hands-on training, aims to address workforce shortage
As Colorado -- and the nation -- faces a nursing shortage, a newly opened college in Aurora is taking a bold step to help fill the gap.
Galen College of Nursing, in partnership with HCA Healthcare -- the parent organization of HCA HealthONE -- has opened a $40 million campus that combines nursing education with the hospital system's Center for Clinical Advancement. The facility offers students immersive, hands-on training in a hospital-like environment.
"This has been years in the making," said Angie Voigt, chief nursing executive for HCA HealthONE. "Aurora is growing, so it made a lot of sense to put a nursing school in the community that needs it the most."
The new campus is already home to nearly 350 students. According to Galen's Aurora dean, Whitney Erickson, students don't need prior experience or prerequisites to enroll.
"They get all of their prerequisites with us," she said. "They go right into the nursing courses."
What sets Galen apart is its emphasis on real-world experience, Erickson said, adding, "Students get hands-on from day one."
Much of that training happens in simulation labs, where students interact with high-fidelity mannequins that mimic patients of all ages, from pregnant adults to premature infants. In one lab, students practiced emergency care on a 28-week-old infant mannequin, complete with vital signs and responsive features.
"We have a control room on the other side," explained Voigt, showing one of the simulation rooms with an adult mannequin patient. "(Instructors) will start waking him up with his eyes open, they'll converse with you, and it's any kind of scenario that you don't expect that could happen."
Lexi David, a student who enrolled in the program last year at Galen's temporary location, said the simulations are intense but essential.
"We worked with a mannequin who can give birth to a baby, and that was insane," she said with a laugh. "It kind of gives you that idea of what you're going to be walking into, so when you are with a real patient, you're not totally thrown off."
David said learning alongside practicing nurses makes the experience even more meaningful.
"I just really love that all of the professors, even our dean, has nursing experience and they bring that to the classroom," she said.
Erickson explained that Galen's mission is to build a workforce that's not only skilled but compassionate.
"We change the life of one to care for the lives of many," she said.
Galen College of Nursing is now enrolling students at its Aurora campus. For more information, visit galencollege.edu.
