Pulse of Campus
Nursing skills lab provides state-of-the-art experiential learning for students
by Lexie Banks (’12, MACL ’15)
Undergraduate nursing students have a new space in which to learn and innovate on campus: the Dumke Nursing Skills Lab. A gift from Ezekiel (Zeke) Dumke Jr., the skills lab provides a physical location that facilitates experiential learning for nursing students.
Walking into the lab, visitors see mannequins that can move, speak, and even hemorrhage as students work to solve complicated medical issues. Blake Pierce, the simulation labs coordinator, says this is all in an effort to improve student learning.
“In post-simulation surveys, our students report greater confidence in their ability to organize, prioritize, and delegate care, as well as to manage complex health-related situations through effective communication and collaboration,” Blake says.
Students say their favorite part of the skills lab is the improved, realistic equipment available for practicing their hard skills. These upgrades include technical equipment such as vacuum regulators, oxygen and air flowmeters, bedside compressors, and hospital beds featuring scales, exit alarms, and pressure-fluctuating mattresses. Maximizing the small space, architects created movable walls to provide more options and mobility in the lab.
“We can literally retract the walls from five intimate learning spaces to two larger learning areas,” Blake says.
Andrea Dumke Manship (’83), Zeke’s daughter, is a trustee for both the Dr. Ezekiel & Edna Wattis Dumke Foundation and the Katherine W. & Ezekiel R. Dumke Jr. Foundation. She says she is proud that her father’s gift was able to fulfill a critical need for the college.
“ wanted to make an end-of-life gift to Westminster,” Andrea says. “Our blood is thick in helping different medical initiatives in the valley. We care deeply about Westminster and its ability to compete with other schools in the area.”
Zeke is a long-time supporter of Westminster College. He has a long history in banking, mining, and community services, including founding and serving as president of organizations such as Western States Management, the University of Utah Hospital Foundation, the Salt Lake Rotary Foundation, the Multiple Sclerosis Society of Utah, and many more. Along with his late wife, Katherine White Dumke, Zeke has funded many initiatives at Westminster, such as the Katherine W. Dumke Center for Civic Engagement, the Dumke Opportunity Fund, and the Dumke-Thornton Refugee Scholarship; his contributions have also supported the construction and operations of the Dolores Doré Eccles Health, Wellness, and Athletic Center and the Jewett Center for the Performing Arts.
“One of his first gifts was to nursing at Westminster,” Andrea says. “Not only is it a stellar program, it is the best-kept gem of nursing programs in the state.”
About the Westminster Review
The Westminster Review is Westminster University’s bi-annual alumni magazine that is distributed to alumni and community members. Each issue aims to keep alumni updated on campus current events and highlights the accomplishments of current students, professors, and Westminster alum.
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