Sim Man 3G tests students

Second and third year nursing students at La Trobe University’s Shepparton campus test their skills using Sim Man 3G technology.

Transcript

Narrator:

Second and third year nursing students at La Trobe University's Shepparton campus are taking blood, running neurological assessments and administering oxygen therapy on a very special patient.

Bruce (Sim Man 3G):

Oh, I can't breath and my chest hurts. Help.

Narrator:

Bruce, the silicon latex mannequin is helping students get work ready by simulating real-life scenarios.

Jenny Doyle:

It allows them a safe environment to practice, and re-practice and re-train themselves and refine their skills so when they're out with patients doing the technical skills their feeling confident and that gives the patients confidence.

Narrator:

The $200,000 Sim Man 3G and AV technology started work last January. Bruce is equipped with a computer, transmitter, receiver and two tanks to hold water and fake blood.

Jenny Doyle:

Bruce can simulate anything from a simple technical skill like taking blood, setting up an IV right up to doing a cardiac arrest or having a pneumothorax and there are pieces we can put on Bruce that would simulate an amputation. So he goes from high to medium and low fidelity.

Narrator:

Not only do students get practical training, but they also learn non-technical skills like teamwork, communication, leadership and decision-making.

Isabelle Ellis:

Non-technical skills are an absolutely essential part of health student education, they are a core competency from a University education and so being able to work in a team, being able to communicate well, being able to demonstrate decision making under a stressful environment, these are all essential skills for a registered nurse.

Chantelle Kozic:

Sim Man does give you confidence, when walk in and you actually have the exposure in your clinical learning at University to something like the Sim Man you have an idea to what it's going to be like when you deal with a human being rather than just a doll.

Jenny Doyle:

We run the students through say a five minutes of a simulation, and then we might want to re-direct them so we pause the simulation and we ask them about what they've experienced in terms of their assessment, what they've noticed, what they've documented and then we have a discussion with them, and then we start the simulation again and see if the students can refine their ability in assessment skills or documentation technical skill.

Narrator:

Bruce the Sim Man, is also being filmed in order to record the correct method to apply an IV or administer oxygen therapy from an asthma attack. The aim is to be able to beam these simulations to other campuses and teaching spaces.

Isabelle Ellis:

We have four campuses in the rural school and students are out on placement in a variety of settings across the state, so with Bruce and with some of the AV technology that we've been able to implement we can actually film a scenario here in Shepparton, beam that to students in a class room in Bendigo, we can real time do the debriefing on the film with the students. We plan in the future to use iPhones to actually get the students to tag and code what's happening in the simulation that's being run in Shepparton and provide feedback to the students that are here and also they can run simulations in their own environments.

Narrator:

With Bruce on the team, La Trobe University Shepparton students will be sure to have their hands full.

Bruce:

I feel better now.

Contact:

Phone:

Email: