Engaged Learning

Service-Learning

Service-learning—an educational experience in which students learn from and reflect upon participation in meaningful community service— is required of all students, reflecting the University’s Franciscan values. Service-learning is successfully used at the University in both traditional and clinically-based classroom settings and has earned national recognition. The University provides service-learning opportunities to students through relationships with over 120 community partners in 17 different parishes.

• Office of Service-Learning | FranU

Simulation Environment Teaching Hospital (SETH)

Our Simulated Environment Teaching Hospital, known as the SETH, is a 4,000 square foot state-of-the-art clinical simulation lab where students practice their clinical skills and interprofessional collaboration in a safe, controlled environment. Simulations are taught in multiple labs that imitate various clinical settings and utilize life-like mannequins and standardized patients (volunteers trained to mimic a real patient). The goal of the SETH is to foster interdisciplinary learning that will improve students’ critical-thinking and applied-thinking skills, and also reduce errors in a clinical context.

• SETH

Every spring, in collaboration with local disaster preparation experts, the University holds a campus-wide disaster simulation.

Cutting-Edge Learning Technology

Anatomage Table

Funded by a grant from the Louisiana Board of Regents, the Anatomage Table, a virtual gross-anatomy simulation device, teaches students about anatomy without the use of an actual cadaver. The Anatomage Table is used to enhance the anatomical and physiological content of students’ learning and offers an expansive library of digital human cadavers that show images of the body similar to what is seen in an X-ray, Medical CT, CBCT or MRI scan. We are one of three institutions in the state of Louisiana to own an Anatomage Table.

Anesthesia Skills and Simulation Lab

Anesthesia Skills and Simulation Lab is approximately 1800 square feet and adjoins the dedicated nurse anesthesia classroom. The lab has recently undergone a large renovation to include the addition of a control room with new audio and visual video equipment. The lab also has recently added two new Laerdal SimMan full body high fidelity simulators and two GE Healthcare Aisys anesthesia machines. The new equipment joins existing simulation equipment to include: one Laerdal SimBaby high fidelity simulator, one Laerdal SimJunior high fidelity simulator, two anesthesia machines, three neuraxial anesthesia task trainers, two arterial line task trainers, three central line task trainers with ultrasound capabilities, one femoral nerve block task trainer, one ultrasound machine, ten intubation task trainers and two flexible fiberoptic scope, ultrasound IV insertion trainers, and two McGrath enhanced direct laryngoscopes.
The Anesthesia Skills and Simulation Lab is solely used by nurse anesthesia students. Students use the lab throughout their educational experience to include a dedicated 16 week Skills and Simulation course during the fourth semester of the program.

Physical Therapy Gymnasium

The University recently invested $1.2 million in facility upgrades which include a new physical therapy gymnasium with state-of-the-art equipment, classrooms with cutting-edge educational technology for multi-modal methods of instruction, including the use of plasticized cadavers for Anatomy, as well as advanced audio/visual equipment.