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Tag: Zyneria Byrd

  • NCCU uses new immersive technology to teach next batch of N.C. nurses

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    DURHAM, N.C. — Artificial intelligence is making its way into one university’s curriculum to help teach the next batch of North Carolina nurses.

    What You Need To Know

    • North Carolina Central University’s nursing program is the first in North Carolina to adopt artificial intelligence technology in its training 

    • The immersive interactive room on the second floor of the nursing building allows students to engage in virtual medical training scenarios

    • Scenarios include therapeutic communication, mental health, post-operative complications and rural community health simulations 


    North Carolina Central University is the first in the state to have an immersive technology room on campus. It’s a new way for students to learn and grow in preparation for their career in medicine. 

    The room on the second floor of the nursing building lets students engage in virtual medical training scenarios. The scenarios include therapeutic communication, mental health, post-operative complications and rural community health simulations. The school has more than 2,000 scenarios.

    The room is built to help students with real-life situations that will prepare them for when they are working with a patient.

    “They’re actually put in situations and have to make critical decisions and assess their patients appropriately,” said Dr. Janice Collins-McNeil, associate professor in NCCU’s Department of Nursing. “So here we were able to create the cell, for instance, for the students to be able to walk through, we’ve been able to, develop cardiac exercises so that the students become totally familiar with the heart.”

    The Nursing Department is also using virtual reality systems with AI to help students feel more comfortable with real-life patient interactions.

    “So usually at the first interaction I clam up. But with the VR now, it has helped me open up and actually practice what I’m going to say before I say it,” Noa Ledger, a senior nursing student, said. “When you start the scenario, you now can check out your patient informations at the front desk. That’s like the first thing you see when you walk through the door. And then you can go to the patient rooms. You can see the patient rooms on the sides, you can go to the medication room and everything.”

    In addition, the immersive rooms offers 360-degree cameras, so they can create their own scenarios.

     

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    Zyneria Byrd

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  • Investment into N.C. community colleges continues across the state

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    RALEIGH, N.C. — There are 58 community colleges across North Carolina, and recently, all of them have seen a boost in enrollment, according to the North Carolina Community College System.

    The increase in students has also led to an increase in investments being made in these institutions.

    What You Need To Know

    • Wake Tech is the largest community college in North Carolina, teaching almost 75,000 students a year across seven campuses

    • Wake Tech also offers apprenticeship programs in more than 20 fields, with five offering professions certifications

    • The east campus in Wendell serves as the STEM hub for Wake Tech students



    “We’ve developed half of the campus here, so the other half was a 100-acre campus. So, it’s got room to grow,” Scott Ralls, president of Wake Technical Community College, said.

    As more spaces are created at the Wake Technical Community College east campus in Wendell, school leaders can offer more educational programs spanning different areas of study.

    “Next August, we’ll open our Advanced Technology Center. It’s really the hub for our engineering, our engineering technology programs and our new fire rescue training center yet to come,” Ralls said. 

    Wake Tech is the largest community college in North Carolina, teaching almost 75,000 students a year across seven campuses.

    “Most of those students are in non-degree programs. They’re coming here for skill training of some type. All the police, who are law enforcement agents from different police forces around the region, are over at our public safety simulation. And right now, they’re students and they’re taking courses that are gonna improve their skill set,” Ralls said.

    Wake Tech also offers apprenticeship programs in over 20 fields, with five offering professions certifications.

    “What has happened over time, particularly because of our apprenticeship programs that we have, is it’s not so much that students are not getting hired when they graduate. Typically, students are getting hired when they come in the door. And in many cases, they’re in particular programs where they may be going to work for four days a week as apprentices and here two days a week with us,” Ralls said.

    A multimillion-dollar investment for community colleges across the state is helping Wake Tech stay on the cutting edge so students can have a smoother transition to the workforce.

    “A lot of the skills that in the past people may have shunned off is blue collar or something else. You know, these are the technology skills of today, and they are the skills that lead to high-paying jobs and great opportunities,” Ralls said.

    The east campus in Wendell serves as the STEM hub for Wake Tech students.

    “One of the things that’s unique for community colleges, and particularly at Wake Tech, is a pathway into the engineering universities — N.C. State, North Carolina A&T, UNC Charlotte, others,” Ralls said.

    It’s something students and alumni say is a big plus.

    “I definitely found it surprising and like how many opportunities they offer. Like I didn’t expect it. But I really enjoyed it. Like, how much they gave,” said Milena Papayan, a recent graduate of Wake Tech.

    Papayan studied engineering for two years on Wake Tech’s north campus, before switching over to biochemistry in her final year. She now attends UNC Chapel Hill, majoring in biochemistry and working toward a career in the medical field.

    “Having the opportunity to get that hands-on experience and all the research experience made me think, ‘Oh, this is what I really want to do,’” Papayan said. “Wake Tech was, kind of, the stepping stones needed to figure out, who I was in life going into each semester I took. I learned what I like, what I don’t like.”

    Ralls says the unique thing about community colleges is that they truly are for everyone, regardless of age or career aspirations.

    “What’s important is that we set up our programs so that you’re hitting the targets that allow you to accomplish what you want to do as a result of going to a community college,” Ralls said.

    The North Carolina Community College System is also set up in a way that any credits earned will transfer seamlessly to any University of North Carolina system school. Some of the state’s private colleges also have agreements that allow students to transfer all courses and credits so they can continue learning with no issues.

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    Zyneria Byrd

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  • N.C. advocacy groups host film festival to show off talent in Asian community

    N.C. advocacy groups host film festival to show off talent in Asian community

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    GREENSBORO, N.C. — North Carolina is home to a number of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, and this month, the Greensboro History Museum partnered with an advocacy group to host a film festival showcasing the creativity within the area’s Asian community.

    What You Need To Know

    • AAPI Short Film Fest hosted by Pave N.C. at the Greensboro History Museum

    • The festival organizer says the films help to break stereotypes surrounding the Asian community

    • Six film makers from the Triad showcased their short films highlighting the Asian and Asian American community


    Paul Beyun submitted a film on his Kenya travels for the AAPI Short Film Fest, hosted by Pave N.C. at the Greensboro History Museum.

    “Let’s embrace Asian community, but let’s also address some issues that we need to talk about and strengthen our community. And, also celebrate, you know,” Beyun, a Greensboro filmmaker and videographer, said.

    The festival organizer says the films help to break stereotypes surrounding the Asian community.

    “It’s always good to talk about just individuality and then talk about just hard topics such as, like, different races, different religions having to mix together,” Beyun said.

    Six film makers from the Triad showcased their short films highlighting the Asian and Asian American community.

    Beyun says showing the films and discussing them with the audience after gives all the filmmakers a sense of pride.

    “The panel is important because it makes people say their truth. Like sometimes they say good things about the world, and sometimes it talks about the pains that we had,” Beyun said.

    When it comes to the films Beyun creates, he showcases the different backgrounds of his travels.

    “I just want to show, like the real, real side of things, like, so my Kenya video, I didn’t want to just show zebras and lions and resorts and hotels,” he said.

    Beyun is Korean, and says even though people are from different backgrounds, their experiences bring people together, which is why he began filming all of his travels.

    “All cultures are beautiful and we shouldn’t be so scared to go to certain countries, or we shouldn’t stereotype like continents, you know, like that’s what happens here. Most people don’t go to certain parts of the world,” Beyun said.

    There are more than 20 Asian Film Festivals worldwide, according to the AsianFilmFestivals.com.

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  • Clemmons art teacher is advocating for heart health

    Clemmons art teacher is advocating for heart health

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    CLEMMONS, N.C. — Teacher Frann Paige is urging others to be on the lookout for signs of heart disease.

    What You Need To Know

    • The American Heart Association says Black and Hispanic women are disproportionately affected by heart disease and stroke

    • According to the American Heart Association, the warning signs of a heart attack include chest discomfort, shortness of breath, cold sweat, lightheadedness, nausea and discomfort in the arms, back, neck, jaw or stomach

    • Frann Paige, a Clemmons art teacher who was hospitalized after a heart attack, says some of the things she’s done to improve her health include reducing sodium intake, cutting down on caffeine and exercising 


    Paige is an art teacher at Clemmons Elementary, and her students have become a part of her life.

    “The love notes I get and the drawings I get every morning make my day,” said Paige, who was hospitalized in 2015 after a heart attack. “When I was sick in the hospital, I kept saying every day, I want to get back to my classroom. … It was the new normal, but I wanted to get back to what I thought was normal. I needed to get back with the kids.” 

    February is Heart Health Month, and the American Heart Association says cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death in women, claiming more lives than all cancers combined.

    In June 2015, Paige’s life changed after a doctor’s appointment

    “I got there very early. Doctors weren’t really ready yet. And with that, the nurse started taking vitals and within 5 minutes, a doctor ran on with a portable EKG machine and they called the ambulance at the same time. I already had a heart attack and was walking around with it for a few days,” she said.

    It was a heart attack she didn’t know she had on the last day of school

    “Started really Friday night. And I didn’t go to the doctor until the next Thursday. And the last thing I remember is being wheeled into an emergency room. And then I woke up a month later from an induced coma,” Paige said.

    She had every symptom that should have been an alert, but she had an excuse for each one.

    “I was pale. My excuse — it was summer. I was hot. My excuse was summer, wasn’t feeling well. The kids gave me something,” Paige said. “But if you take all these symptoms and add them up, I should have known better. I should have known to go to a doctor.” 

    And heart disease runs in her family.

    “My father passed away at an early age of a heart attack. I have aunts with pacemakers. It should have been on my radar. It wasn’t,” Paige said.

    Now, she’s urging women to be aware of the symptoms and to have their affairs in order.

    “What I can tell you is take your body seriously and know your body,” she said. “Know if it’s not right and you are having more than one symptom.”

    “I had a pain, but I had a pain in my jaw, so I made an appointment with my dentist,” Paige said. “I didn’t have a pain in my arm like men have.”

    And now, to stay on top of her health, she has a defibrillator that helps regulate her heart, and she makes better decisions day to day.

    Paige says some of the things she’s done to better her health are reducing sodium intake, cutting down on caffeine and exercising as much as she can.

    The American Heart Association says Black and Hispanic women are disproportionately affected by heart disease and stroke.

    As with men, women’s most common heart attack symptom is chest pain or discomfort. But women are more likely than men to experience other common symptoms, particularly shortness of breath, nausea or vomiting and back or jaw pain.

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