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Mechanical SimMan to train CCSU nursing students

The Tin Man in “The Wizard of Oz” may have wanted a heart, but Clayton State’s mechanical SimMan already has one, sort of. The extremely lifelike talking mannequin, purchased entirely with ICAPP funds, will be introduced to the University’s nursing students this January.

Manufactured by Laerdal Medical, the $26,000 SimMan simulates situations nurses will encounter in their careers as professional caregivers. From his pre-programmed library of heart, lung, bowel, and vocal sounds to his ECG library of over 2,500 cardiac rhythm variants, SimMan behaves, for all intensive purposes, as a real patient.

“We plan to use him for vital signs, EKG interpretation, and patient scenarios where we can program him to exhibit signs and symptoms,” explained Clayton State’s Dr. Lisa Eichelberger, DSN, RN. “He has phrases, but we can record other phrases if we want,” she says.

Not only can nursing students read SimMan’s vital signs, blood pressure, etc., but they can also “help” poor SimMan. For example, if SimMan shows signs of heart trouble, he can be resuscitated through defibrillation. Students can also practice IV training in his specially made arm or insert tubes in SimMan’s chest.

The Health Professionals Initiative of the Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia’s Intellectual Capital Partnership Program, or ICAPP, program matches private sector healthcare providers with USG colleges and universities to create programs that are producing fast-track graduates in the fields of nursing, medical technology and pharmacy. The initiative uses ICAPP’s® proven model that meets the “just-in-time-needs” of the state’s business community.

Faculty SimMan training will conclude in December, and SimMan will make his first appearance in the classroom at the start of spring semester. Clayton State’s School of Health Sciences plans to purchase SimBaby next year with the remaining ICAPP funds. The School received $110,000 in funding from ICAPP in fall 2004.

For more information on SimMan and how he will benefit Clayton State’s nursing program, contact Eichelberger at 770-961-3431.