Simulators may be a common tool in training pilots, but now a Victoria, B.C. hospital is using similar technology along with Wi-Fi-enabled mannequins to teach medical students how to respond to emergency situations.
The newly-opened Centre for Interprofessional Clinical Simulation Learning at Royal Jubilee Hospital uses the dummies to simulate emergency situations in operating rooms and critical care units.
The mannequins can imitate breathing, talking, coughing and even moaning in pain. The students attend to the dummies' needs in a fictitious emergency situations while staff control the dummies’ reactions via Wi-Fi from a nearby control room.
"When we shine lights in the eyes, they respond just like a real human would," says Dr. Brian Farrell, a clinical assistant professor at UBC.
For some like emergency medicine resident Dr. Justin Roos, the lifelike dummies can be disconcerting at first.
“The first two minutes, you have to kind of suspend your disbelief,” he told CTV Vancouver.
The use of mannequins is based on the aviation industry's flight simulators, which help create "situational context" for trainees. The goal is to have students recognize the mistakes they make and ensure they don't happen when a patient's life is actually on the line.
"When you fall off your motorcycle and are a major trauma patient, you don't want to be the doctor's first case like that," says Farrell.
The $2.9-million centre is a partnership project between Island Health, the regional health authority; the University of Victoria, and the University of British Columbia.
For students and practitioners, the simulator can help provide a sense of assurance for when they're called upon to help in an actual case.
"I love it," says nurse Sandra McLeod. "It's kind of muscle memory so when the real thing happens, you're not as stressed when it does."
With a report from CTV Vancouver’s Bhinder Sajan
