Robots help teach Edison medical students
"Sim man" acts like a real patient
By _MICHELLE L. STA_RT Correspondent

COURTESY PHOTO Edison College plans to implement the use of a dummy with human-like simulation qualities into their nursing courses this fall.

Nursing students at each of Edison College's three campuses will soon have a few new patients to treat. Only these won't need health insurance or complain about hospital food.

They're robots.

"Sim man" (for simulated man) is already clothed in a gown and tucked neatly into a hospital bed in the nursing lab at the Fort Myers campus. He breathes, coughs, hacks, wheezes and talks; just like a patient with a respiratory problem.

"I can't breathe and my chest hurts. Help," he gasps.

Or "I feel dizzy."

Hooked up to machines that monitor his vital signs, he can be programmed to simulate a variety of ailments that students help identify and treat. Administrators said the robots will give students real life scenarios without the fear of harming a patient.

Students monitor symptoms and react accordingly. If the symptoms show breathing problems and airway blockage, students can even intubate the simulated man.

Thanks to a $197,000 grant through the Florida Department of Education, the college has been able to purchase a simulated man, a simulated baby and a simulated pregnant woman for each of the three campuses.

"We were lucky to have this grant," said Mary Lewis, district associate dean of health professionals.

Professors are training on the simulated man right now, but all three dummies are expected to be put into use this fall.

The simulated man and baby can be programmed to react to a number of situations, while the pregnant woman, known as Noelle, simulates labor.

Anne Harner, a registered nurse and lab supervisor at the Fort Myers campus, said the dummies react and track each time a student touches them. If a student does not administer the appropriate care, alarms sound and the condition of the simulated man or baby deteriorate. Their lips can turn blue. They can gasp for breath and beg for help. The pulse can become weaker in each. They can even be programmed to go into a code, which means there is an imminent loss of life and designates an emergency situation.

"They have to figure out what is wrong," said Harner, after explaining that the simulated man and baby have not yet been named. "One of the features we have is I can video tape everything that happens with sim man. Afterwards, I can project it on the wall, tell them what they did well, what they can do to improve and how to manage the patient situation. This gives students a really excellent tool by giving them a scenario without the fear of hurting a patient."

The college applied for the Succeed grant through the Department of Education last August and received the funds this spring. The dummies arrived earlier this summer.