PRESQUE ISLE, Maine — Students in the University of Maine at Fort Kent nursing program, both on the Fort Kent campus and at the University of Maine at Presque Isle, will have a high-tech new way to learn about human anatomy when classes resume after the COVID-19 state of emergency.
The universities have acquired two state-of-the art Anatomage tables. These tables, used by the world’s top medical schools and hospitals and featured by TEDTalks and PBS, are described as the most technologically advanced 3D visualization systems for anatomy and physiology education.
“We are pleased to have such a powerful teaching tool available for our professors and students,” said Erin Soucy, UMFK dean of undergraduate nursing. “Rather than seeing a picture in a textbook, students see a realistic, 3-D picture of body systems, organs, and even cells. Learning is an interactive process and students remember more when they can link content to a visual image.”
UMFK’s bachelor of science in nursing program, which is also delivered on the UMPI campus, offers nursing classes, labs, and clinicals and strives to deliver as many hands-on and high-tech activities as possible—from mock hospital suites filled with equipment they’ll see in a real hospital setting to human patient simulator mannequins.
The program delivered at UMPI is designed to meet the needs of place-bound students — those who aren’t able to travel to Fort Kent to complete the BSN degree due to family and work responsibilities — as well as to address nursing workforce challenges.
UMPI President Ray Rice said, “This will give students an absolute advantage in terms of understanding anatomy and body systems and being able to apply that knowledge once they are in the career field.”
The highly interactive tables features a life-sized display, touch-screen technology and 3D imagery, allowing users to view photorealistic anatomical structures layer by layer and from every angle. These structures are based on thousands of real human cases that have been digitized in the highest possible resolution.
Both tables have arrived at their respective campuses and the nursing faculty are preparing them for use in class.
“Having access to this state-of-the-art medical technology has a profound impact on nursing students, as well as students enrolled in all UMFK/UMPI programs,” said Stacy Thibodeau, UMFK assistant professor of nursing who delivers classes at UMPI. “The incorporation of the Anatomage Table into our lectures and labs allows for a virtual learning experience of tomorrow, to be experienced in today’s UMFK/UMPI classroom. This is an exceptional learning and diagnostic resource that is FDA approved.”
For information about the UMFK BSN program, call 207-834-7600 or email umfklife@maine.edu. To learn more about the program delivered on the UMPI campus, call 207-768-9532 or email umpi-admissions@maine.edu.
Submitted by the Community and Media Relations Office of the University of Maine at Presque Isle.
