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He may not be “quite alive,” but you wouldn’t know it.
After all, he breathes, has a heartbeat, and a pulse. In addition, he doesn’t mind receiving an intravenous (IV) line, an electrocardiogram (EKG) – or even getting an unusual disease or a bad wound. And he will tell you – in no uncertain terms - where it hurts.
Who is he? An interactive, pseudo-patient used to teach students of the Bilingual Nursing Fellowship Program (BNFP). The $50,000 computer-driven Sim Man is courtesy of a Federal Cooperative Title V Grant.
BNFP is a program of South Mountain and GateWay community colleges in cooperation with Banner Health. It addresses the critical shortage of nurses who can communicate fluently with Spanish-speaking patients. U.S. Congressman Ed Pastor was instrumental in obtaining federal funding for the program. A total of 217 students have enrolled in the program since it began in January 2003.
Mr. Sim is housed at GateWay Community College -- where the BNFP students complete their nursing training after earning college credits at SMCC. He joins an adult-female simulation trainer and a training baby at GateWay’s “Gecko Community Hospital” -- a nursing-simulation lab.
The program’s future nurses simulate simple to complex procedures and make assessments. All of that is before starting jobs in hospitals, nursing homes, private homes and additional health-care settings.
IMPACT ON NURSES ‘IS DRAMATIC’
“The impact on learning is dramatic,” according to Cathy Lucius, Chair of the Maricopa Community College District Nursing Program.
Highly advanced models such as Sim Man (by Laerdal), are complete with software and interactive technology that allows learners to practice the emergency treatment of patients.
Sim Man is five-feet, six-inches tall and 75 pounds.
Faculty may change how the patient responds to students’ interventions. “This greatly enhances critical thinking and, so, improves decision-making -- especially when it comes to intervention and assessment,” Lucius says.
“The nursing-simulation program is considered one of the most advanced in the state, and we pride ourselves on the extensive use of simulations to enhance clinical practice and critical thinking skills,” according to James Wright, MSN, RN – Clinical Faculty and Nursing Simulation Specialist at GateWay.
Hired with grant money, Wright keeps the life-like patients responding and helps to develop nursing skills and situations.
Sim Man uses software, air and mechanical components to breathe, speak, and cry. He can be pre-programmed to provide real-time interactions with students. “Most critical is making the situation as realistic as possible, so we use the same equipment found in many local hospitals.” Debriefing with the students after the simulated patient interaction has occurred is vital, Wright says.