Updated: Mar 12, 2020 Published Oct 28, 2013
Esme12, ASN, BSN, RN
20,908 Posts
As I tour colleges with my daughter....I saw a state of the art sim lab and I was AMAZED at how realistic the dummies....I mean mannequins were. The sounds that infant made and the pattern of breathing caused a nursing instinct to want to respond immediately! It was almost hard to keep my hands off of it!
Are all sim labs this sophisticated? They even make up them with make-up.
I was impressed
NICU Guy, BSN, RN
4,161 Posts
We have a SimMan, SimJunior, SimNewB (neonate)and a SimMom (woman in labor including the baby coming out). It simulates seizures; bleeding; vital signs respond to therapy; insertion of foley cath plus output; secretions from eyes, nose, mouth (blood, mucous, CSF); Diaphoresis; bowel sounds; all pulse sites; lung sounds; patient voice; cyanosis; give meds (IV, IM oral), feedback on monitor for effectiveness of CPR; intubate. Essentially any scenario that your instructor's devious mind can think up, it can duplicate.
I learned the hard way not to complete the scenario too quickly because the instructor will keep pushing the complexity until you get flustered.
Everline
901 Posts
]I think we have about 13 or 14 simulators representing different age groups and situations. We also have one that has amazing and very realistic heart and lung sounds. I always leave simulation lab feeling quite inept.
These all made sounds...blinked, had pulses...we have been looking in our area...this was by far the nicest. All age groups, laboring /delivery....I've seen the big trauma ones for med students....but these were very cool all the monitors bells and whistles.
Maybe I found a new job.....running sim lab.
Everline said:]I think we have about 13 or 14 simulators representing different age groups and situations. We also have one that has amazing and very realistic heart and lung sounds. I always leave simulation lab feeling quite inept.
do they go over the case scenario afterwards to discuss how and why you needed to do this or that? do they debrief you to tell you why what you did wasn't correct?
Esme12 said:do they go over the case scenario afterwards to discuss how and why you needed to do this or that? do they debrief you to tell you why what you did wasn't correct?
Yes they do, thank goodness. They try to emphasize that simulation lab is the place to NOT be afraid of making mistakes. But it's very humbling, that's for sure.
Everything is recorded by camera and mics, including the phone line to talk to "doctor, surgery,etc". The monitor is connected to the video so you can see in real time what the vitals were every second the scenario is running (like overdosing a patient with Morphine and see how long it actually took you to notice and give Narcan). It would be a very interesting job for those who want to teach outside the classroom. It is an awesome learning experience with the understanding that you are there to make mistakes without killing a patient. After a few minutes, you forget that the patient is not a live person.
It is a collaborative between Indiana State University, Ivy Tech State College, and Indiana University School of Medicine. The guy in the gray shirt is Jack Jaeger, the Director of the Sim Center (the job you want).
mrsboots87
1,761 Posts
My campus just remodeled the entire health services building. It already had a few sims, but they recently added 3 of the new ones (a laboring/birthing patient that delivers a baby and 2 other standard patients that can be programmed for most ailments). They also updated it to model our nearby hospitals, complete with a 10 bed "clinic" that has the sims plus empty beds and all standard medical equipment. I start my program in Jan and am super excited to be of the second class to start out with the new building and equipment. Hopefully it helps me be as prepared as I can be for the "real" world.
I have seen the medical/trauma academic center sim labs...I had little knowledge about how sophisticated they had become at the nursing school level.
bell1962
345 Posts
We had mannequins and oranges back in the dark ages!
CP2013
531 Posts
QuoteWe had mannequins and oranges back in the dark ages!
Don't forget the hot dogs to practice TSTs ?
bell1962 said:We had mannequins and oranges back in the dark ages!
We practiced on each other...except bed baths and foley caths. We started IV's on each other and gave each other injections.....we also inserted NGT's on each other....strictly voluntary of course.....
We went to nursing homes and practiced on the living