By Bayne Hughes
The Decatur Daily (Alabama)
Copyright 2006 The Decatur Daily
Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Business News
He breathes, his heart beats, and he even talks. SimMan doesn’t save lives, but he trains those who do.
Calhoun Community College spent $35,000 to bring SimMan, to train its emergency medical services and nursing students. The computer-automated mannequin is a highlight of the college’s Health Sciences Building, which opened in August.
SimMan, built to the size of a 5-foot-2-inch Asian male, may not be real, but he’s as close to real as a student would get to practice on without actually using a real person. He has (fake) blood running through his veins and breathing lungs, and he reacts to the student’s diagnosis and treatment.
“He can do absolutely anything I want done,” EMS Instructor Mark Brannon said.
Brannon runs SimMan, or SimWoman with a few adjustments, with a laptop computer.
A crash cart, similar to those used in hospitals, monitors vital signs such as heart and breathing rates. The cart also has a defibrillator.
In contrast, student previously practiced on innate dummies with few movable parts.
“It’s so lifelike,” said Jenny Cook, a fourth-semester EMS student. “It’s almost like having a real patient.”
Brannon programs into the computer different pre-written scenarios, some downloaded from a Web site and some Brannon wrote himself. He can make the heart beat quicker, expand the tongue as if it’s swelling or tighten the airway. He can even tighten the neck, so students learn to deal with an older patient who might have a stiff neck.
An example scenario might be a patient having an allergic reaction that’s closing down the airway and making it difficult to breathe. The student reads the scenario, tells Brannon the diagnosis and how he is treating the patient.
The student has 30 seconds to begin treatment, or the SimMan says, “I’m going to die.” Brannon said Sim Man reacts to the student’s treatment. The patient responds to questions and make comments on how it’s feeling following a treatment. If he does something wrong, the patient gets worse. If the treatment is right, it improves.
Student Chasity Fogg said SimMan is particularly useful in practicing difficult procedures like intubation. She knows that the more lifelike experiences she gets, the more comfortable she will be in the field when she’s treating an actual patient.
Brannon said Calhoun’s students are getting to use a technology previously available only for military physicians.
“Most med schools aren’t even using SimMans yet,” he said.