Just Like the Real Thing

Responding to a mock Code Blue, a team of first responders, including U-M Medical School residents, tends to SimMAN , a life-size, physiologicallyresponsive mannequin in the Clinical Simulation Center of the Towsley Center.

James M. Cooke, M.D., assistant professor of Family Medicine, monitors how residents respond to a mock code in the CSC.

A resident receives a page: “CODE BLUE ADULT: TOWSLEY CENTER.”

Checking his watch, he switches into emergency response mode, knowing that a patient is in dire respiratory or cardiac arrest.

He runs full-tilt along with the other handful of first-responders in training to the patient’s location—in this case a mock-up intensive care unit located in the Clinical Simulation Center of the Towsley Center.

Upon arrival, the resident begins cardiopulmonary resuscitation with the help of nurses and medical students to save the life of SimMAN, a life-size, intubate-able, realistically physiologically-responsive mannequin.

SimMAN, and other simulation mannequins and skills training programs available in the CSC, provide state-of the-art, risk free, hands-on skills training to physicians in both adult and pediatric medicine, surgeons, obstetricians, anesthesiologists, nurses, medical students, paramedics, respiratory therapists and other clinical staff.

Integrated Training Program

An apex of our three missions—research, education and patient care—this American College of Surgeons accredited center is “an inclusive, multidisciplinary and integrated training program that reflects the needs of the institution,” says Paul G. Gauger, M.D., CSC executive director and associate professor of surgery and medical education.

When the Center opened in 2004, most training offered was for surgical procedures, but Center directors soon learned that other UMHS clinical staff could also benefit from simulation training.

“Simulation-based instruction provides learners the opportunity to practice their acquired skills to a fine degree of performance outside the immediacy of the patient care environment, and in a manner that is extremely safe for patients and practitioners alike,” says Pamela Andreatta, Ed.D., M.F.A., M.A., CSC director and assistant professor of medical education. “The advantages of this type of training are tremendous for the acquisition and maintenance of procedural proficiencies, team training and communication skills.”

Expanding Resources

Additional funding expanded the CSC so it is now available to the School of Nursing and for continuing education in vascular surgery and robot-assisted gynecological surgery.

Most days, you’ll find medical students and nurses learning skills like inserting arterial catheters and intravenous lines into gel-like appendages; residents practicing laparoscopy procedures; doctors brushing up on patient care skills; and even engineering students doing research in software development, ergonomics and multimedia.