Interdisciplinary Disaster Drill Simulation: Laying the Groundwork for Further Research.

AIM: The aim of this study was to examine the effect of using serial simulations with progression through the nursing curriculum. BACKGROUND: Simulation provides a way to learn without fear of failure and increase critical thinking and clinical decision-making skills. Learning in an interdisciplinary simulation provides a greater understanding of teamwork and communication skills. METHOD: The NLN/Jeffries Simulation Framework was used in an interactive disaster drill with role-playing patient actors and manikins. In a debriefing session, nursing and radiology students co-presented scenarios. RESULTS: Students displayed critical thinking and clinical decision-making skills. They reported an increase in self-confidence in caring for patients during a disaster, an increase in empathy, and learning by observing others. CONCLUSION: This pilot study revealed that an interdisciplinary disaster drill simulation experience was a positive learning experience for both nursing and radiology students.

Hyperuniform disordered waveguides and devices for near infrared silicon photonics.

We introduce a hyperuniform-disordered platform for the realization of near-infrared photonic devices on a silicon-on-insulator platform, demonstrating the functionality of these structures in a flexible silicon photonics integrated circuit platform unconstrained by crystalline symmetries. The designs proposed advantageously leverage the large, complete, and isotropic photonic band gaps provided by hyperuniform disordered structures. An integrated design for a compact, sub-volt, sub-fJ/bit, hyperuniform-clad, electrically controlled resonant optical modulator suitable for fabrication in the silicon photonics ecosystem is presented along with simulation results. We also report results for passive device elements, including waveguides and resonators, which are seamlessly integrated with conventional silicon-on-insulator strip waveguides and vertical couplers. We show that the hyperuniform-disordered platform enables improved compactness, enhanced energy efficiency, and better temperature stability compared to the silicon photonics devices based on rib and strip waveguides.