Day eleven was a jam packed day including travelling to London, touring a simulation lab, and listening to lectures. We got to hear about cardiovascular disease and smoking, how the simulation labs work, their different cadavers, and disability nursing in the U.K. Our first lecture was on cardiovascular disease and smoking. Our lecturer was very knowledgeable on the subject and touched on prevalence in the U.K. and in America. She explained the connection between cardiovascular disease and smoking and talked about different ways the government can and has tried to intervene. It sparked discussion of if it should be banned in public spaces like schools and hospitals and we debated both sides of the issue. We talked about how it would be hard to enforce and how it could maybe waste the few resources we do have when it comes to law enforcement. Obviously enforcing this would cause a lot less second-hand smoke exposure, but it does take away freedom and is not the most realistic as I mentioned before. It was a very insightful conversation and I enjoyed the debate style.

Our next thing was a tour of the skills and simulation labs. BCU has a newer unit that was recently expanded to provide more beds and mannequins with different features to provide a well rounded for the students. The facility had a pregnancy stimulator mannequin as well as a baby that cries, has a pulse, changes color, moves, and more. They also had numerous different ages of people that had different features such as bone structures, skin detailing, abilities, and more. Additionally, they have a fake ambulance that stimulate different situations for emergency medicine students such as disaster relief. They also have a replica apartment in which social work students can get assessed on their ability to interact with people and handle different situations. This space is also used for nursing students to practice what they call “community nursing” which is just nurses who travel and do home visits for patients. They are taught how to handle situations with difficult patients and understand things when people cannot communicate what may be going on. These wards were similar to the ones at Pitt, but there were a few extra things I noticed that were different. For example, they had two Anatomage tables, and we only have one at Pitt. We also have more mannequins than they do as we have larger classes. It was interesting to compare the different resources we have and to understand that we may need access to to other or more things as we also do not have as specialized of education.

We then took a few hour bus ride to London where we stayed in the hotel for a little before going to a Pitt alumni dinner with two different ladies who were very knowledgable on their areas of study. It was inspiring to hear both of their stories as they are both working mothers who have created a their own businesses. One of them had a parental coaching business and they other lady had a blog that she monetizes by endorsing different brands for mothers. They were both very nice and I am excited for tomorrow to do some sight seeing.