Samuel Merritt University students in the accelerated BSN program got to test their skills June 10 in an interactive setting.

Nearly three dozen nursing students from the Sacramento Regional Learning Center took part in the intense and accelerated daylong Baby Boot Camp course, which features simulated mannequins to create lifelike scenarios. The course provides them with both aspects of the labor and delivery process — caring for mom and newborn.

“Baby Boot Camp gives the students a foundation, a groundwork, some place to start,” said Susan O’Donnell, MSN, CNM, WHNP, assistant professor. “I’ve received a lot of positive feedback from the students about the experience saying that they learn more doing this than they do with lecture. For that reason, too, I am changing up how I lecture.”