College of Nursing and Health Science
Learning Resource Center (LRC) Overview
Purpose: The purpose of the LRC is to support the academic and clinical educational
processes of the students in CNHS. The overarching goal is to contribute to the
development of knowledgeable, competent, and compassionate registered nurses who are
interested in life-long learning and who will enrich the nursing profession and thereby
positively impact the health and well being of their clients. This contribution is achieved
through the talents and commitment of the LRC staff and the varied, data driven services
offered through the LRC.
LRC Staff:
Director: Judith Healey Walsh 617 287 -7505 email: judith.walsh@umb.edu
Office: Science Building, 3rd Floor, Room 301-14
Responsibilities: responsible for overall management and growth of the LRC,
coordinates the development, implementation and evaluation of LRC programming
including grant identification and submission, coordinates the Plan for Success program,
hires and supervises TAs and work study students
Reports to: Director of Academic and Student Affairs
Assistant Director: Susan Griever 617 287-7594 email: susan.griever@umb.edu
Office: Science Building, 3rd Floor, 301-20
Responsibilities: assists director in all areas of LRC planning and management, manages
lab functioning including scheduling, preparation, inventory, organization and
maintenance issues, coordinates mandatory OSHA/HIPAA training, tutors in many
content areas, supervises Open Lab, competency testing and tutoring schedule (20 hr
position)
Reports to: LRC director
Teaching Assistants: Thirty hours of service is provided each week by graduate nursing
students (5hrs/week/student) who have been selected for TA positions funded through the
Graduate Studies Department. They are usually located in the 3rd flr. Nsg. Testing Lab.
Responsibilities: For the first 4-6 weeks of each semester their time is utilized in skills
competency testing for NU310 (medication administration skills) and NU226 (vital signs,
wound care and catheteritization). Once this is completed they provide tutoring in study
and test taking skills, specific nursing content areas and clinical skills. Coverage is
usually available Mon-Fri; times vary according to student need and TA availability. The
schedule is revised and posted each semester.
Report to: LRC director and assistant director
Location of Labs:
Main Nursing Lab: 2nd Floor of Science Building inside the Main Office area. This lab
can accommodate 20 students (can be stretched to 30). It is mainly used for clinical
orientations, lab sessions for NU226 (Intro to Nsg), NU220 (Health Assessment) and
NU310 (Adult Health I), exam reviews, supervised clinical practice sessions (open lab)
and workshops.
Nsg. Testing Lab: 3rd floor of Science Building : 301-41(area where faculty offices are
located), middle corridor next to the Office of Urban Family Health. It is primarily used
by the TAs for competency testing and tutoring.
NP Lab: 3rd floor of Science Building in the Math/Computer Science area: Rm 143
(Directions are posted on the bulletin boards and doors outside of the CNHS main office).
It is used primarily for Advanced Health Assessment Labs (fall semester); supervised
clinical skills practice sessions, clinical conferences and smaller workshops.
These rooms are constantly utilized.
Any request to schedule use of lab should be emailed to the LRC assistant director
with as much advance notice as possible. Lab sessions for NU226, NU220 AND
NU310 and already scheduled workshops take priority. Although every attempt is
made to accommodate requests, space is limited and may not be available at the
time requested.
Faculty who are utilizing any lab please refer to the handouts which outline location
of supplies, clean up and maintenance rules for students and faculty.
Services Offered
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Supervised Clinical Skills Practice Sessions
Clinical Skills Competency Testing
Remediation/Enhancement of Clinical Skills
Individual/Group Tutoring in*:
 Study Skills
Test Taking Skills
 Growth and Development
 Intro to Nursing
 Health Assessment
 Pathophysiology
 Adult Health Nursing
 Pharmacology
 Limited availability for writing assistance and
paper research process
 Care plan development
* students in these courses utilize the most tutoring
services but students in any nursing course may
sign up for tutoring
 Workshops in:
 Study Skills
 Test taking Skills
 Nursing Process and Care plans
Faculty can request that a workshop be developed and scheduled specifically for their
class. Ability to fulfill these requests is based on space and LRC staff availability.
 Video Library: Over 400 videos are available to enhance the students’ learning.
Faculty may reserve and borrow these videos to view at home and present in
class. Videos are located in the 3rd Flr Nursing Testing Lab. If you know that
you want to use a video on a specific date anytime during the semester, you may
reserve it in the log book in the lab and then pick it up on or just before the
showing date.
Faculty may request that a video be scheduled and available for students to view in the
lab (based on the lab availability), 2/wk for 1-2 weeks. LRC staff will post the times of
these sessions on the appropriate course bulletin board. Students may request to view
videos but cannot borrow them.
 Supplemental Lab sessions: If there are concepts or topics in your course content
that could be more effectively understood through simulation or hands on learning
stations you may discuss the feasibility of collaborating with the LRC to design
and implement the lab for students in your course.
 Plan for Success Program: Students on probation meet with an LRC staff member
or a student affairs specialist to complete an assessment of the barriers to learning,
learning style and academic habits and develop a plan for success which is
monitored throughout semester.
The student affairs committee (SAC) has identified the following criteria to warrant
faculty member, advisor, administrator or student affairs specialist to refer a student to
the Plan for Success Program:
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Lab Science failure
Pattern of withdrawal while failing, in 2/more req. nsg. courses
Failure to meet academic progression requirements
2 or more warnings in the same semester
HESI below 850
Failing the Writing Proficiency Exam
Who can refer students?
Students can self refer. Clinical and classrooms faculty, advisors, administrators, and
student affairs specialists can all refer any student that they believe will benefit from
assistance through LRC.
Analysis of the risk program has demonstrated that being proactive and identifying
and referring students early in the semester proves more beneficial and increases
the success rate.
What are some of the reasons why I would refer a student?
Clinical Reasons:
 Difficulty organizing and prioritizing care
 Problems with care plan development
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Lack of progress or regression with skills attainment
Difficulty communicating with patients and/or staff
Inadequate documentation skills
Difficulty with medication administration
Student receives a failure warning
Classroom Reasons
 Poor attendance
 Poor quiz and test grades
 Poorly developed writing skills
 Questionable study skills
 Difficulty with note taking
 Inability to critically analyze reading materials
 Poor quantitative skills
How do I refer a student?
There is a brief referral form that you need to complete. An electronic version will be
emailed to you at the beginning of the school year. Hard copies will be available at
faculty orientation and the first faculty meeting each semester.
The easiest way to refer a student is to complete the form electronically and email it to
the assistant director (susan.griever@umb.edu )and print a copy to give to the student. If
you are at clinical and cannot easily submit it electronically, give a written copy to the
student to bring to the LRC when they schedule their appointment. You can also put a
form in her mailbox. Please feel free to call her (617 287-7594) about any problem or
referral that you feel needs to be discussed.
How does the process work?
The student referred will be assigned to an LRC staff member based on their type
of learning need and their time availability. The tutor will document the problems
identified, progress, and recommendations for each session. A summary of this will be
sent to you (if you have referred the student) either through the student or by email. It is
helpful for you to email back to the tutor any progress and also any specific areas that
need continued work.