Learning Facilities
The Faculty boasts up-to-date, innovative facilities that simulate the real situations that medical staff may come across.
These resources are essential in offering students a hands-on introduction to health and social care practice. Much of our teaching is carried out within our state-of-the-art, £30m Seacole Building, which houses some of the best learning facilities in the UK.
Take a virtual tour of our skills suites at Seacole
In a sector where new techniques are constantly being discovered, we work hard to ensure that students learn using the most up-to-date equipment available. These include the only mock operating theatre in an English university and a cutting-edge radiography virtual clinical training facility, virtual ward and virtual case creator.
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Mock wards
Our mock wards enable you to get a feel of what a ward is really like before you head out for your first placement. They contain ‘Sim Men’, which are demonstration dummies that develop ailments, allowing you to treat them as you would a real patient and build your confidence in reacting to the changing needs of patients.
Birthing room
The birthing room is kitted out as if in a real maternity ward. There is a bed and all of the essential equipment associated with babies, pregnancy and mothers to ensure safe pre-natal and post-natal care. You will be able to use these facilities to understand the health situations associated with pregnancy and the care of the baby and mother after birth.
Laboratories
We have recently installed new laboratory facilities to help you explore understand the scientific principles underpinning many of our courses. The physiology laboratory is equipped to help you learn about the way the human body works by performing investigative experiments. The biomedical science laboratory is undergoing an upgrade over the summer and will allow you to learn about anatomy, cellular processes, immunology and enzymology in a hands-on way that links directly to day-to-day health care.
Operating theatre
The mock operating theatre is set up in the way that you would it find in a hospital, with all of the machinery, tools and equipment necessary. Operating theatres can be daunting and confusing places on first view but with access to our mock theatre, you will be able to build up confidence and feel comfortable in your working environment.
Virtual wards
The Virtual Case Creator (VCC) is a unique, online learning tool that uses the latest animation, illustration, 3D modelling and programming techniques to support the creation of online, interactive and engaging case studies and scenarios.
The VCC starts by presenting you with complex, unstructured problems that realistically represent aspects of health practice. You will then have access to multiple information sources, such as charts, medical notes, physical and environmental cues, which you will process and make medical decisions accordingly.
Using the VCC develops your ability to filter, critically analyse and process information in order to work safely, effectively and efficiently within a modern health care arena. You have to decide on the key priorities associated with each aspect of care and afterwards, you will receive feedback on the appropriateness of your decisions.
Radiography and radiotherapy skills facility
This clinical skills facility was opened in the Radiography department in 2007. Diagnostic radiography and radiotherapy students will benefit from learning with the latest technology being used in hospital departments today. This technology will help you to develop the professional, personal and practical skills required to progress immediately in your career as a registered therapy or diagnostic radiographer.
The Faculty is also a major pilot site for a state-of-the-art, radiotherapy virtual clinical training facility, which will help to support you with your training. This unique facility will allow you to simulate x-ray techniques using the latest computer software. With this new technology, the Faculty of Health is the best equipped radiography centre in the region.
Take a virtual tour of the Radiography and Radiotherapy Skills Suite at City South Campus
Mary Seacole Library
The Seacole library, based at City South Campus, is one of the UK's largest specialist health education libraries. The state-of-the art facility offers an extensive range of range of information and reference materials set out in a relaxing environment, conducive to studying. There are comfortable seating areas, group study areas, a silent study area and private study rooms.
You will, of course, have access to all of the University’s libraries, including the main Kenrick Library on the City North Campus, which is open for almost 90 hours a week and holds more than 320,000 books, 2,000 print journals and carries more than 4,000 electronic journals online.
Computer facilities
The Seacole building houses a large open access IT Suite which comprises of 96 PCs, full colour printers, photocopiers and scanners. Our PCs utilise the latest Intel i5 core technology, all with:
- Fast (unrestricted) internet connectivity
- Ability to save files to USB, DVD & CD
- Microsoft Office software
- Research and statistical software
- Storage space which can be accessed from any PC across the University and from home
Our PCs are also designed to support students who may have difficulties with reading and writing, featuring specialised software with zooming/magnification and screen reading capabilities, which may also be customised for individual student needs.
The IT Suite offers extended opening hours and is supported by a specialist Corporate ICT Open Access Assistant during term time. In addition to the open access PCs within the IT Suite, there are 12 networked student PCs available within Seacole library.