Real Feel

“This is the realest you’re going to get, next to being there with the patient,” says Deborah, the center’s simulation coordinator. “And this learning center is not only for nurses, but also for nursing assistants, doctors, respiratory therapists, and medical assistants from our private physician practices.”

It was my longtime friend and retired school nurse, Judy Elbaum, who prompted me to take a tour of the GBMC Simulation Innovation Learning Center, located on the grounds of one of the largest community hospitals in the Mid-Atlantic region. Judy works under Deborah in a volunteer capacity at this center that trains physicians, nurses, and support techs in the 342-bed acute and subacute medical center in a true-to-life hospital ambiance on practice mannequins.

The simulation center, created to imitate real-life settings, train personnel for almost any medical situation, from inserting an IV to performing complex surgery to practicing difficult conversations with patients. It’s a critical part of GBMC’s continuing education program, helping staff grow their skills and adapt to evolving medical techniques and technology.

“When you look at one of these mannequins, it might at first seem like a plastic doll, but it actually ‘breathes,’ and, for example, its pupils dilate if you shine a light in its eyes, so a trainee can actually listen to the sounds of its lungs and other internal organs,” says Deborah, who started her medical career as a paramedic and has been working at GBMC for the past 30 years, spending 21 years in the emergency department, and more recently as an education specialist. “We practice a lot of code situations here, so they’re able to recognize a deteriorating patient and have a trial run on what to do, which teams to call in, and so forth. Staff trainees can always take away something they can bring back to the bedside.”