He blinks; he breathes; and he has experienced numerous medical interventions. But blonde, blue-eyed Cody is not real. He is part of the University of Michigan Health System’s Clinical Simulation Center. And, Cody helps distinguish U-M’s Simulation Center as one of the very few simulation programs that includes pediatrics.

Like the adult patient simulators, Cody can provide accurate physiological responses to disease states and medical interventions. The simulators provide trainees with opportunities to practice critical care, trauma management, and procedural skills like airway management, intubation, and ventilator management.

SHARED RESOURCES, SHARED SUCCESS

Before the simulation center was created in 2004, individual departments had their own procedural simulations. With this new opportunity, different departments contribute varying amounts, so even the smaller departments can still benefit from enormous resources. “This is a shared success for everyone,” says Pamela Andreatta, Ed.D., Assistant Professor, Department of Medical Education, and Director, Clinical Simulation Center.

The simulation center has numerous benefits (see box). “Residents can practice without risk,” says Tom Deegan, M.D., Clinical Assistant Professor, Departments of Emergency Medicine and Pediatrics, and Medical Director, Human Patient Simulation, Clinical Simulation Center. They still have the pressure of needing to react appropriately and quickly, because the patient simulators respond like real patients.

Paul Gauger, M.D., Associate Chair for Education, U-M Department of Surgery, and Medical Director, Surgical Simulation, Clinical Simulation Center, says, “We’re working to enhance patient safety and the quality of patient care. At the same time, we’re dedicated to the process of education and the assurance of competence, so the advanced technologies in our Clinical Simulation Center help us to meet all of these goals.”

EERILY SIMILAR TO A REAL OPERATING ROOM

Derek Woodrum, M.D., is in his fifth year of residency training in surgery at UMHS, with two more years of training to complete. Woodrum says that the higher-end simulators are eerily similar to what goes on in a real operating room. “Surgical simulation has been very beneficial in my training—this is quite a bit different than how it would have been 15 or 20 years ago. Today’s technology is really impressive, and I expect that it will become a much greater part of surgical training in years to come,” Woodrum says.

The simulation center has received enormous support from all of the departments and schools that are involved (including the school of nursing). External funding from foundations, the government, and corporations will allow the simulation center to grow. There are already plans to expand.