With the press of a button, the “patient” starts hemorrhaging. His blood pressure begins to plummet. The nurses in the room must decide what to do next to save his life.
Nurses may face this scenario in the Simulation Laboratory at Community Healthcare System. The person pushing the button – and deciding the patient’s next potentially life-threatening ailment – is longtime Registered Nurse and Clinical Educator Nicole Ribble. The patient is Apollo, an invaluable piece of machinery that can cry, sweat, bleed and even die on command. Apollo is one of several simulation Manikins that Community Healthcare System has invested in over the past decade to enhance the capabilities of its nurses.
The goal of the Sim Lab is to prepare, educate and foster critical thinking, said Jean Gardner, Director of Education for Community Healthcare System and Chief Nursing Officer for Community Stroke & Rehabilitation Center in Crown Point.
“The biggest win with simulation is it gives our nurses and the Education Department the ability to work on their critical thinking,” she said. “Nurses have to make important decisions at the bedside continually.”
Daniel Heredia, Registered Nurse and Manager of Educational Services at Community Hospital, plays a key role in helping nurses foster their skills. While Ribble pulls Apollo’s strings via a computer behind a two-way mirror in the Sim Lab, Heredia is in the room with the nurses to provide clinical support.
“We can teach nurses so many things in a real-world setting that is more impactful than trying to do in a didactic course,” Heredia said. “We can take all those concepts and we can put them into an interactive scenario with high stakes involved or we can simply provide the chance to practice everyday skills in a low-stakes environment where no harm can occur.”
Community Healthcare System has invested in its Simulation Lab for more than a decade, including the purchase of a varieties state-of-the-art Manikins.
Among them is Apollo, which has reactive pupils; tongue swelling; bleeding and fluid drainage; bilateral pulses; uni- and bilateral chest expansion; lung and heart sounds; and abdominal distension.
The Juno Manikin is a simulator designed to offer comprehensive training for clinical nursing skills, including tracheostomy, ostomy and oral care. This wireless and tetherless Manikin is ideal for fluid administration (eyes and ears); intramuscular injections; intravenous insertions; and care and maintenance of nasogastric tubes, chest tubes, stomas and tracheotomies.
Lucina, the world’s first augmented reality childbirth simulator, delivers an all-in-one simulation experience. This wireless Manikin comes with a rubber fetus to teach proper prepartum, labor, delivery and postpartum care.
“Lucina gives us the opportunity to use real-life scenarios during our training sessions,” Clinical Educator Patrice Zagotta said during a recent exercise with fellow Educator Hayley Schermerhorn and nurses at Community Hospital. “The hands-on, multidisciplinary benefits of having Lucina and her technology are priceless. We can initiate OB emergencies on Lucina that prepare us for all the what-ifs that can happen in the delivery room, operating room and emergency room.”
Michelle Wartman, a Community Hospital Labor and Delivery nurse who was part of the training, echoed Zagotta’s sentiments.
“The life-like experience we receive with Lucina and the feedback we get from our clinical educators are extremely important,” Wartman said. “It all makes us the best we can be.”
Mary Puntillo, Community Hospital Registered Nurse Clinician, uses Anne, a premature, 1-pound infant Manikin, during training sessions and drills with nurses at Community Healthcare System.
Anne helps healthcare professionals refine standard practices for various challenges presented in premature newborns, integrate the latest technologies into preterm infant training programs and master the skills needed to care for preterm infants, improving patient outcomes. “Anne is constantly in use,” said Puntillo, who has been a Community Hospital nurse for 41 years. “The realistic scenarios for which we use Anne have been a game changer for our nursing teams.”
Gardner said the support the simulation program has received from Community Healthcare System leadership has been heartening.
“It is remarkable to have these impressive tools on hand for our staff,” Gardner said. “It shows the strong support system we have in our CEOs and nursing officers. We hope to acquire more Manikins in the future to carry on the vital and ongoing professional development at Community Healthcare System. These tools allow us to provide the best care for our patients.”
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