The College of Nursing has invested $28,000 in a mannequin called SimMan™. SimMan™, made by Laerdal, is a full-body patient simulator designed to realistically simulate all types of acute patient management and anesthesia scenarios. The College also invested $11,000 recently to purchased a newer mannequin, Nursing Anne™. She is designed for simulation and practice of a complete range of patient assessment and care procedures, including vocal interaction, sounds auscultation and non-invasive blood pressure measurement when used in conjunction with the new VITALSIM™ Vital Signs Simulator. The addition of breast exam, post-surgical mastectomy care and fundus massage makes this full body, adult female the complete patient care mannequin. The hand held remote, VitalSim™ control works with VitalSim™-capable mannequins to simulate ECG, heart, breath, bowel and vocal sounds, blood pressure and pulses, with the added benefit of scenario and logging features.

As the skills required of nurses in the actual health care setting has grown, so has the need for students to be able to practice their newly learned skills in a safe environment. With a patient simulator, they can practice in a setting that is as near to reality as possible, but without the possibility of having harmful effects. The use of patient simulators for medical education training purposes is a development that is gaining in popularity. In the past, plastic mannequins were available that could have various tubes inserted, and have injections performed on them, but they did not simulate a patient response, or make realistic sounds for students to learn the assessment components of a skill.

In recent years, full sized body simulation mannequins have become available which simulate realistic patient body functions. This includes the production of breathing sounds by electro-mechanical lungs which inhale and exhale according to computer based instructions; a palpable pulse and heart rhythm that can be monitored on an electrocardiograph; physiologically correct pulses, blood pressure; and reaction to medications and fluids administered intravenously. Students in various programs in Nursing will be able to use the mannequin to practice nursing assessment, planning, intervention and evaluation.