One of the reasons for the shortage of nurses that continues to plague the heath care industry is too few clinical spaces where students can practice nursing care, but that's about to change with the increased use of high-tech mannequins that simulate real patient conditions including childbirth, trauma and many other real-world nursing situations.
Sage nursing department officials, St. Peter's Hospital officials, representatives from STS International and Simulaids, manufacturers of the medical simulation systems, will demonstrate how the realistic models work on Tuesday, Dec. 9 at 3 p.m. on the Troy campus of Sage. The simulation will take place in the basement of Russell Sage College's Ackerman Nursing Building on 2nd Street (next door to the Troy Public Library on 2nd between Congress and Division streets) in downtown Troy.
"The Simulaids mannequin and STS' control software provide the opportunity to videotape and review a student's work," said Glenda Kelman, chair of Sage's nursing program. "Just as important -- it provides a safe environment for students to learn and develop confidence and an opportunity to learn from mistakes without causing harm to patients."
The same software and mannequins were first used to train medics for the Iraq war.