At UTA Libraries, we believe student success thrives when people come together, faculty with fresh ideas, staff who love to help students create and explore, and learners who aren’t afraid to try something completely new. This fall, one of those collaborations came to life in a way that surprised us. 

Working alongside Dr. Tracy Munk-Martin from the College of Science and the incredible team at the Smart Hospital, UTA Libraries helped support a brand-new clinical skills simulation course for pre-health students. And while the course is new, the heart behind it is something we’ve long cared about: providing students with authentic, hands-on experiences that build confidence before they enter their professional programs. 

The course evolved from a curriculum previously developed by Creative Spaces and Services Librarian Chloé Bennett and Dr. Steven Gellman to help pre-med students feel more prepared and less like impostors, early in their academic journey. This semester, Dr. Munk-Martin became the first faculty member outside of Medical Humanities to fully integrate the module into her class, adapting it for a group of 17 exceptionally motivated students. 

Every week, students traded in the traditional classroom to work in the Smart Hospital or the biology department. In this new setting, they learned skills such as taking vital signs, drawing blood, suturing, performing EKGs, and even participating in a simulated labor and delivery scenario. These are experiences that many students don’t have until they attend medical or PA school and seeing their confidence grow has been one of the best parts of the partnership. 

Turning Clinical Skills into Creative Learning 

From the beginning, the course was designed to be hands-on. Students created their own fictional medical case study, chose the clinical skills they wanted to highlight, and then built a visual aid to accompany their presentation using the tools and expertise available in the UTA Libraries FabLab. 

This is where the creativity really took off. 

With guidance from FabLab staff and Bennett, students explored a range of disciplines, including 3D printing, ceramics, woodworking, textiles, glasswork, and more. The results? Stunning. 

We saw: 

• A 3D-printed heart with working pumps that circulated simulated blood
• A torso model that demonstrated how fluid builds up and drains from the abdominal cavity
• A ceramic jaw with removable teeth, inspired by a real FabLab staff member’s injury story
• A plush cloth head that allowed a student to teach suturing in real time 

 
“These students truly blew me away,” Bennett shared. “My job is to make sure these projects go beyond checking a box, to help students find ways to create something that actually enhances their learning. I’m really proud of them.” 

The Student Experience: Where Learning Becomes Real 

Hearing from the students themselves made it clear just how impactful this course has been. 

Rasheedah Akhtari, a future Physician Assistant, created a cloth mannequin head with layered fabrics to demonstrate suturing. Inside, she added a simulated blood packet and a “brain” made of colored materials to make the training feel realistic. 

“I want to work in the operating room,” she said. “Getting hands-on experience now puts us ahead. I didn’t know much about the FabLab before this, but now I see just how many resources are here for us.” 

Angela Sateesh chose to focus on preeclampsia and eclampsia; two conditions she felt more people should understand. She created a clay placenta model, learning new techniques in clay and glass along the way. 

“Visualizing what happens inside the body helps people really connect with the material,” she explained. “The FabLab helped me bring that idea to life.” 

Why Partnerships Like This Matter 

For Dr. Munk-Martin, this course is just the beginning. 

“The goal is confidence,” she said. “We want our students to walk into medical, dental, PA, or other health programs with real experience and a little more assurance in what they know. And we’re already talking about expanding the program into lab- and pharmacy-focused courses.” 

This is precisely the kind of student-centered collaboration that UTA Libraries is proud to support. Whether we’re helping to develop curriculum, guiding students through the creative process, or working side by side in the FabLab, our staff plays a meaningful role in bringing faculty ideas to life. Because when students are given room to explore, build, and create, they discover what they’re capable of and carry that confidence forward. 

Looking Ahead 

As the College of Science tracks these students into the following stages of their academic journeys, we know one thing for sure: partnerships like this truly make a difference. They prepare students not just with technical skills, but with the belief that they belong in the rooms they’re entering. 

And for us at UTA Libraries, that’s what student success is all about: supporting learning, inspiring curiosity, and helping every Maverick step into their future with confidence.