Dolls give students a dose of reality

What do you get when you combine a child's doll, a Game Boy and the latest simulator technology? You get SimMan, of course. One of the Nursing School's newer toys, SimMan is a part of the vast variety of simulator mannequins that helps to prepare Penn's Nursing students for their futures in the emergency room. Nursing students treat the mannequins -- which give students the opportunity to practice important patient care skills in a safe environment -- as if they are real patients. "You go [to the lab]... introduce yourself to the mannequins, read their name band and tell them what you are going to do," explains Nursing senior Sharon Williams. "You actually talk to them as if they are real patients." And the mannequins respond like real patients. "They say, 'Ow, that hurts!'" Nursing junior Amelia Lo says. "It can mimic heart sounds and lung sounds," adds Nursing senior Lauren Ream. "You can program anything." Some students have learned about this realism the hard way. Nursing junior Jenny Heck explains that during one class, the students had to figure out what had been done incorrectly to the mannequins, and one girl thought the catheter had not been inserted properly. "She yanked on it and 'the patient' peed all over the bed," Heck says laughing. Along with fluids that can be added to the simulators' bladders for urinary catheterization, fluids can also be added to the simulators that will mimic blood flow in order for the students to practice intravenous line insertion. Nursing students practice on an "intravenous virtual reality simulator, which I would equate with Game Boy," says Angela Iorianni-Cimbak, director of the Mathias J. Brunner Instructional Technology Center where the mannequins are kept. Penn Nursing was the first nursing school in the country to have SimMan. In addition to lifelike fluids, the mannequins have interchangeable parts -- Williams says that one time she had to insert a catheter in one of the mannequins and was met with a surprise. "I think I am doing it on a male because the doll had a male face," she says. "I pulled down the sheet, and there was a female part!" The mannequins vary not only in gender, but also in age -- according to Iorianni-Cimbak, they range from newborns to adults. The simulation technology from which the mannequins were created is based on the simulation equipment that is used to train flight pilots, Iorianni-Cimbak says. "We can create an ER situation through simulation," she adds. These simulated emergencies help students learn to make quick decisions. Students are watched by a trained nurse and work through a simulation, and afterward, the student and the nurse will go over what the student did right and what needs work, Iorianni-Cimbak says. The simulators are part of the integrated approach to education that is used by the Nursing School. Along with attending lectures on theory and participating in clinics at local hospitals, Nursing undergrads must prove competency in a total of 36 specified skills during their four years at Penn. And after their extensive work with SimMan and the other mannequins, the University's Nursing students hope to be equipped to handle any surprise they might uncover in their careers.