Sacramento State nursing students were recently introduced to a new patient in the form of SimMan, a high-tech and semi-functional simulated mannequin.

SimMan received his official initiation into the program in November, upon the return of eight faculty members, who had spent four days at a Texas training facility learning how to work with a simulated patient, Nursing Department Chair Ann Stoltz said. –

SimMan, whose name changes almost daily and has been everything from Mel Gibson to Bob and Larry, was purchased by funding increases from the chancellor’s office. –

“The cost of a high fidelity simulator (like SimMan) is around $30,000,” Stoltz said. “Altogether, including the remodeling of the (simulation) labs, the division invested close to $150,000. This amount was secured from a one-time allotment from the chancellor’s office for the department’s offering of the Entry Level Master’s Program, which began last summer.”

While the department is unsure of how much it will cost to maintain SimMan, Stoltz said that the amount, whatever it may be, is well worth it for what SimMan and the new simulation labs can and have already brought to the program.

“The simulation labs will allow faculty the opportunity to provide students with learning experiences that target specific learning needs,” Stoltz said. “Along the same lines, students will have the opportunity to practice real life case scenarios that utilize critical thinking and nursing skills to achieve optimal patient outcomes.”

More often than not, students in hospital and clinical settings do not encounter certain patient conditions, Stoltz said. With SimMan, the department is now able to replicate these situations, giving students a better education and more real-life experience.-

The new technology is extremely beneficial for students, said junior nursing major Daryl Mallorca. The more lifelike the mannequin is, the more prepared students will be to handle actual human beings, he said.

“(SimMan) has numerous capabilities, including providing the students with the experience of listening to different types of lung sounds, heart tones and bowel sounds,” said Assistant Nursing Professor Katherine Kelly. “He has the ability to demonstrate changes in a patient’s condition and gives us the ability to-program in-patient situations and help students understand sequences that might occur and what the appropriate action would be.”

A number of nursing professors have already held clinical classes in which students worked directly, either one-on-one or in groups, with the simulated patient.

The simulator is very important in the nursing program because it gives the students the potential to care for critical situations in an atmosphere in which they can not do harm to a patient by omitting or missing a required action, Kelly said. It also gives instructors the opportunity to coach students in a non-threatening environment, she said.-

After students have administered care, they gather for a debriefing of the situation. The strengths and weaknesses of the treatment are written down and analyzed, and the students discuss what could have been done differently to provide better care.

Stoltz said a mistake can be just as beneficial as success in the simulated environment.

She added that there will soon be another addition to the program in the form of birthing simulator, Noelle.

“Noelle will allow students to set up and participate in the entire birthing experience,” Stoltz said. “Infants will provide the opportunity for infant assessments, while the mid-fidelity simulators will be utilized in the teaching of nursing skills and physical assessment labs.”

Stoltz said no matter which simulator or simulation lab is being used, the department has a clear cut goal for the overall management of the program.

“Our goal is to have a full-time staff member that coordinates the simulation lab,” Stoltz said. “(This person will be responsible for) scheduling, maintaining the equipment, assisting faculty with set-up and case scenarios and providing on-going remediation as needed.”

Ashley Evans can be reached at [email protected]