Two College of Saint Benedict and Saint John's University (CSB/SJU) students have recently been collaborating with three faculty members on a new nursing simulation for the College of Saint Benedict nursing lab.

The students and faculty members are working on a functional barcode medication administration system, which will allow nurses to give medications to patients in hospitals, a release by the CSB/SJU Community Newsroom said. The nursing department acknowledged the barcode was badly needed, but something that would be costly to do. So they collaborated with the school's computer science department to create the barcode.  

“This was really just one piece we were missing,” Jodi Berndt, CSB/SJU associate professor of nursing, told the Newsroom. “It’s going to be a really important piece of our sim lab.”

SJU senior Andrew Rothstein said it was the first software he developed.

“This is the first time I developed software that will be used by a large amount of people,” he told the Newsroom. “It was great to be able to help out students in another field while gaining more skills in my field. And, it is gratifying to think about the possibility of this being used for many years to come.”

CSB senior Lindsey Hoeschen noted that creating the software was a great way to inexpensively add a necessity to hospitals. 

“When we first started, Jodi (Berndt) did a good job explaining the need for this product,” Hoeschen told the Newsroom. “I think the alternatives to making this system were either really expensive or not up-to-date with what the hospitals do, so I felt like we were contributing to an important additional piece to their high tech simulation lab.”

Those involved with the project were glad to be a part of it, because it made an impact on the nursing simulation lab and for hospitals. 

“It’s the best feeling to be able to work on a project that has real impact,” Peter Ohmann, assistant professor of computer science at CSB and SJU, told the Newsroom. “It’s not something that is theoretical, it’s not something that’s purely academic … it’s building something that will be used by students for years and years to come.”

Rothstein was happy he was able to work on the project over the summer and was glad how it ended up being finished. 

“I am very pleased with how the project turned out,” Rothstein told the Newsroom. “As with anything, there are aspects that could work a little better, but it feels good to look back and see how much we accomplished this summer. Especially remembering the days where it felt like we were making very little progress, it is great to see that it all came together.”