Next-Level Nursing Education

The University at Buffalo was already equipped with nursing simulation programs.

But the new $34 million simulation center, announced last spring, will be in a league all its own, positioning UB’s School of Nursing at the forefront of one of the most transformative trends in nursing education.

With funding from the State University of New York system, matched by UB’s own investment, the new simulation center will “help prepare faculty and develop the expert nursing workforce of the future,” said Annette Wysocki, dean of the School of Nursing.

Along with the announcement, UB was named SUNY’s first Nursing Simulation Center of Excellence by New York Gov. Kathy Hochul.

The center will leverage state-of-the-art technology, enabling both in-person and remote students to practice clinical skills, decision-making, teamwork and communication in a safe, controlled space.

Features include:

• High-fidelity simulation rooms for acute care, pediatrics, labor and delivery, operating room and home care.
• Virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) labs to immerse students in diverse clinical settings.
• An immersive 360° simulation room that will enable students to practice situational awareness, decision-making and team coordination in highly realistic contexts.
• Telepresence robots that will enable remote simulation participation and SUNY-wide faculty collaboration.

Priorities for the center include expanding nursing enrollment by fully leveraging New York State legislation that permits up to one-third of clinical training hours to be completed through simulation; serving as a SUNY-wide resource for faculty development in simulation-based education; and establishing a premier research hub dedicated to advancing simulation and artificial intelligence technologies in health care education.

The center is expected to support a 34% increase in prelicensure nursing enrollment in the first-year post-project completion and a 67% increase over the next decade.

At the heart of it all is patient care, said Kelly Foltz-Ramos, assistant professor and director of simulation and innovation.

“By offering nursing students repeated, hands-on experience with high-risk and high-frequency scenarios—ranging from emergency responses and maternal health crises to chronic disease management and telehealth delivery—graduates will be better prepared to provide safe, competent and compassionate care from day one.”