Practice makes perfect. We’ve all heard that before.
But for those who work in the medical field, practicing on a human being isn’t always a viable, or safe option.
Meet the new tool they’re using at Paul Oliver Memorial Hospital in today’s MedWatch.
Nurses are dealing with a patient who has a whole host of problems at Paul Oliver Memorial Hospital, but they know he’ll be OK.
He’s just a dummy or, more appropriately, a simulator.
“Our goal is to help as many people as possible, but also to make sure that, no matter what the situation is, if we have the equipment then the staff will know how to use it,” says Lorrell Guerra.
Lorrell is the coordinator for Cardiac Pulmonary Rehab.
She says this new addition is invaluable to the staff here.
“It allows them to become familiar with equipment that maybe you use it once a year, maybe you use it once every three years, but if you practice how to use something you use it efficiently and competently every time you touch the equipment, “ explains Guerra.
And because this isn’t a major trauma center, an emergency can pull everyone to the floor.
“We’re a small rural health care facility, we have a limited number of staff, and if I call a code blue in the ER, people are assigned from other areas of the hospital to respond. When they respond they know what they’re supposed to do,” says Guerra.
Guerra can program in any kind of health emergency on the simulator and call a mock code.
“Using a simulator, you can make a mistake, you can start over. In a real person you can’t, and it allows everybody, nurses’ aides, maybe a housekeeper responds, everybody has a role in that code, but simulation allows them to be familiar with what that role is,” explains Guerra.
Barbara Smith is in charge of orientation for new employees.
She says they’ve had sims before, but this one is much more advanced and more like a real person.
“It’s not quite the same, but it’s very, very close, and I think being able to see the nail beds turning blue or the patient’s breathing, and this mannequin can even talk and complain of chest pain, just like a real patient would,” explains Smith.
But more than anything, these experiences can take some of the scary out of what can be a terrifying moment.
“What are those things that are going to make your heart stop? When you walk into the ER, when someone comes in and they are having a heart attack, they’re having a stoke, all of those things will make you heart stop when it walks in, and you need to know right now what to do and how to do it with minimal staff. So I guess this is going to make us better at practicing all of those skills,” says Smith.
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