Hands-on care: School of Nursing unveils renovated Skills and Simulation Center

The School of Nursing Skills and Simulation Center made its debut in 2004 as part of the 69,000-square-foot Health and Social Services Building, housing state-of-the-art labs designed to teach students skills in physical assessment and other areas.

 More than two decades later, the center has undergone its first major face-lift, thanks to funding approved by New Mexico voters. In 2022, general obligation bonds for higher education on the general election ballot passed by a 60% margin, providing NMSU with $51.1 million in funding to support construction, renovation and modernization projects across its campuses.

A portion of that funding – $2 million – paved the way for the center’s recently completed expansion and various renovations to enhance the student learning experience.

“This investment allowed us to make much-needed updates and improvements to the Skills and Simulation Center that will not only benefit our programs and students but also help grow the nursing workforce in New Mexico,” says Alexa Doig, director of the School of Nursing. 

The renovated center features four large skills rooms with new static mannequins and three simulation areas with six high-fidelity human patient simulators. It also boasts three conference rooms and two control rooms, fully equipped with paging microphones, voice modulators and pan-tilt-zoom cameras.

Walking throughout the first-floor space is not unlike touring a hospital outfitted with the latest technology. Working medical beds, stretchers, simulated oxygen machines and other hospital equipment fill each room. There’s also a new laundry area and a dedicated simulation operating room for the nursing anesthesiology program on the second floor. 

Students began using the updated center during the spring 2025 semester. 

Paola Martinez and several of her classmates spent an afternoon in February working with mannequin patients in one of the simulation rooms. The new equipment and tools impressed Martinez, who began the Bachelor of Nursing program in 2021.

“I see a lot of the technology is more advanced,” Martinez says, “and that will help simulate what it’s like to be in a real hospital.”

Although Martinez graduated a few months later in May and only spent a few weeks using the new center, she nonetheless saw its benefits. 

“Just the other day, I met with my clinical group, and we got to use the baby mannequins and practiced swaddling them,” she says. “We also worked with the maternal mannequins, which gave us a better picture of what our teacher was talking about.”

Another student, Kiara Keoho, echoed Martinez’s sentiment, saying she was able to use the space to practice hands-on scenarios involving CPR, nasogastric tubes and IVs.

“Some students can process information as they hear it from their professors, but others need visuals or hands-on practice,” Keoho says. “I need hands-on practice – so this facility has really helped me. My professors can tell me something and then back it up by demonstrating it on a mannequin with actual hospital equipment.” 

Martinez, who served as president of the NMSU Student Nurses Association, believes the center will help students prepare for clinical rotations, giving them more confidence before stepping into real-life medical settings. She says it may also draw more students to NMSU’s nursing programs. 

“I hope potential nursing students see this updated facility and are more encouraged to apply to this program over others,” she says.