Almost human
High-tech simulators give students real-world experience

With only a white sheet covering him, “Stan” lays on an exam table in PSU’s McPherson Hall. He is surrounded by Department of Nursing students – all looking for the first sign of what might be ailing him. They watch his chest rise and fall as he breathes, quietly comparing notes about his condition.

Suddenly, his eyes close and he begins to tremor. “He’s having a seizure,” explains Kristi Frisbee, coordinator of the department’s Learning Resources Center. Nobody moves. It passes in a moment, and Stan opens his eyes once again. A student reaches for his wrist to feel his pulse, which beats steadily.

Fortunately for these students (not so much for undiagnosed Stan), the seizure could be the result of a number of problems. Stan isn’t a human, but an extremely lifelike Human Patient Simulator (HMS) – a computerized mannequin that looks, feels, and acts like a human by demonstrating a number of pre-programmed ailments. Until they begin working with human patients, Stan is as close to the real thing as these students will get.

The PSU Department of Nursing wasted no time ordering Stan and the six other HMSs in his “family” after receiving a $500,000 grant from the Kansas Board of Regents last July. The funds were the largest gift awarded out of the nearly $3.4 million pool designated for 20 public higher education institutions throughout the state.

In addition to purchasing the human simulators, hiring new staff, and upgrading facilities, the department is also using the money to create the PSU Regional Simulation Center/Learning Resources Center. Along with partners Labette Community College and Fort Scott Community College, the department will open the doors of the center on Friday, April 20, for the Spring Education Conference. Kathy Ann Carver, a nationally recognized expert on simulation for healthcare education, will present “Simulation: A New Roadmap for Healthcare Education.” The event is open to area nurses and health professionals.

What visitors will see in the lab is nothing short of the modern miracles of science. Developed for the military in order to provide medics with the most lifelike “patients” imaginable, the HMS has helped all sorts of health professionals learn the ropes when unable to practice on a real person. Human simulators can be programmed to experience 90 different health crises, including a heart attack, a deflated lung, cancer complications, even death. Stan – who was designed with the stature and health of a “standard,” 33-year-old man – has a heartbeat, and can breathe, speak, and bleed. He can be fitted with a chest tube, a catheter, an IV, and can have his pulse checked in several places.

“It’s important to let students experience this,” said Frisbee. “We can’t just call up a hospital and say ‘Can you have someone die at noon today so our students can learn how to save a life?’ This is the best way for students to be trained and prepared for anything.”

Constructed by Medical Education Technologies, Inc., in Sarasota, Fla., the simulators are made from soft, pliable plastic that is impressively realistic to the touch. Stan can be physically modified and reprogrammed to become Stanette (his female counterpart), Granny, Truck Driver, and Soldier. With each change of personality, the simulator can experience new health concerns that are unique to its age and occupation. Handcrafted by a team of employees over the course of four months, the simulators are designed after real people associated with the company – Frisbee chuckles when adding that Truck Driver, who smokes and sits a lot, was designed after a company administrator. Employees take four months to complete a single Stan, perfecting everything from the internal wiring to the details of the tongue.

In addition to the adult version, the department also purchased Child and Baby simulators – tools Linda Guerue, vice president of patient care at Mt. Carmel Regional Medical Center, believes are vital to the training of professional nurses.

“We don’t have a lot of pediatric patients, so having the child to practice on is wonderful,” she said. “In the old days, we learned how to do things like IVs by learning on each other and on patients. This is a great opportunity to improve clinical skills without using patients. It’s quite an accomplishment for a university this size to have a lab like this. It’s not only helping the students, but it’s going to help nurses throughout the area.”

PSU nursing student Elanda Brubaker agrees. “I think this is a good learning opportunity,” she says as she attends to Baby, who cries and coos and has soft skin reminiscent of a newborn. “When I first saw the simulator and its eyes were blinking, it kind of freaked me out. But these are very helpful. We can learn things in class and come in here and try them for ourselves.”

Although it will take the department time to discover everything the simulators are capable of doing, Frisbee says it’s worth the work – and that it’s a big boost for the department to step into the future of healthcare education, not to mention become a regional resource for healthcare professionals.

“These simulators create nurses who are much more confident and competent,” she said. “It’s a wonderful addition.”

For more information on the PSU Regional Simulation Center/Learning Resources Center, the Spring Education Conference, or the human patient simulators, contact the Department of Nursing at 620-235-4431 or visit the Department of Nursing Web site at http://www.pittstate.edu/nurs/.

---Pitt State---