fbpx

Simulated Patients

Quantum Foundation helps FAU expand use of realistic mannequins

By Martin Lenkowsky

Florida Atlantic University’s medical and health care students soon will have even more modern, state-of-the-art learning tools with which to hone their skills, thanks to a $300,000 grant from the Quantum Foundation to the school’s new Advanced Clinical Skills Training Facility.

The grant was designed to advance the ability of medical students, nursing students, residents and other health care trainees to deliver high quality, technologically advanced, humanistic and culturally competent care to the community. Construction on the new training facility was slated to be completed in May. The facility is being built adjacent to the FAU Simulation Center, which has also received Quantum Foundation funding in the past.

The Quantum Foundation was founded in 1960 in order to provide funding for various health projects in Palm Beach County, says Kerry Jamieson, Quantum’s senior director of communications. “Only nonprofits are funded,” she says. “Our mission is to improve the health of Palm Beach County residents.”

Because of South Florida’s growing—and aging—population, Jamieson says the region could be facing a physical shortage of health care professionals in the future. “We fund educational projects from elementary school all the way through the college level,” she says. 

The grant money will provide FAU with various types of advanced, high-tech learning equipment. “They have a facility there that replicates a hospital room,” Jamieson says. “Students work in that ‘state-of-the-art’ hands-on training facility. It’s a lot more realistic than a textbook.” 

Mark Goldstein, senior director of the Simulation Center at FAU’s Charles Schmidt College of Medicine, says the grant money is going to help fund the construction of additional space adjacent to the original 7,800-square-foot simulation center. “We are now adding 6,700 to 6,800 square feet,” he says. 

The additional space is well needed.

“We are now at 256 students,” Goldstein says. “We had well outgrown our space. We needed to expand our training space and add more technology. Rooms at the new building will be twice the size. We’ve added a new multipurpose room. It’s all related to being able to advance training and add technology.”

The new building will provide eight additional exam/patient rooms, four breakout rooms for debriefing, an enlarged 70-seat classroom, a standardized patient lounge and office, and two large multipurpose rooms dedicated to clinical teaching.

“We wanted to expand,” Goldstein says. “Our space was limited, therefore the amount of training was limited.”

The simulation center is no stranger to Quantum funding. “My relationship with Quantum goes back 12 years,” Goldstein says. “We’re very indebted to Quantum for their support. They’ve always been a big supporter since 2004.”

Goldstein says there are two simulation centers in Palm Beach County; the one at FAU’s Boca Raton campus; the second at St. Mary’s Hospital in West Palm Beach. “We’ve trained residents from JFK and the University of Miami, and more than 3,000 practicing nurses,” he says.

A visit to the simulation center features—among many other lifelike educational tools—a number of high-fidelity mannequins. Thanks to the Quantum grant money, an additional four rooms at the new training facility will have mannequins as well. “We bought two with Quantum grant money,” Goldstein says.

The four new additional rooms will be set up like patient exam rooms, Goldstein says. “The goal of the program is to emphasize the teaching of good clinical skills, critical thinking and using the whole technology package,” he says. “These kids are really tech-savvy. They would much prefer active learning. The clinical skills training center will enhance technology and provide a better learning experience.”

FAU medical student Michael Migita, who is entering his fourth year at the medical college, has used the simulation center multiple times. “I’ve used it since my first year. It’s part of the curriculum. As a med student, it’s a great way to learn to communicate with patients. It would definitely help in an emergency situation. It helped our learning process, to communicate and to take a patient’s history,” he says.

The mannequins are not only programmed to communicate, but also allow students to listen to lung, heart and abdominal sounds as they would on an actual patient when assessing for any abnormalities.

Third-year medical student Nicolas Heft also finds the mannequins to be an exceptional learning tool. “We use mannequins and the staff controlling them as live patients,” he says.

Heft, an emergency medical technician who works at a hospital emergency room while going to school, says says the mannequins are on a hospital bed and can be programmed to produce any sound. “They will purposely put in pathology like abnormal heart, lung and abdominal sounds,” he says.

He finds examining the mannequins realistic compared with what he sees in the ER. “We face similar situations all the time,” Heft says. ♦

You May Also Like

Pride Week Festival Begins With Tribute to Pulse Nightclub Survivor

Miami Beach Pride’s week-long festivities will commence with a special tribute to the LGBTQ+ community honoring the victims of the tragic shooting at Pulse Nightclub in Orlando. A ceremonial “flip the switch” lighting event will illuminate the iconic 1111 Lincoln Road parking garage in pride colors as a sign of solidarity. It is the second

Surfside luxury condo sees notable sales

Arte at Surfside is making waves. There’s, of course, the news that Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner are renting at the 16-resident luxury condominium. And there’s the December penthouse sale for $33 million. But other sales are heating up the oceanfront property at 8955 Collins Ave. developed by Alex Sapir and Giovanni Fasciano (both pictured

Up in the Air: A Discussion

In a dynamic region where residents are typically on the move, everyone is wondering about the health of the airline industry and the safety of airports and airplanes. Everyone is eagerly looking for signs about when air travel will begin to normalize. Against this backdrop of COVID-19, South Florida Business & Wealth organized a virtual

South Florida Yachting Legend Passes

Robert “Bob” Roscioli, an icon in the South Florida marine industry, has passed away. Many recognize the name Roscioli from the widely-successful and world-renowned Roscioli Yachting Center, a full service shipyard catering to South Florida’s marine industry. Bob built this business as a passion project, and because of his attention to detail and unique skill,

Other Posts

Four key steps

[vc_row css_animation=”” row_type=”row” use_row_as_full_screen_section=”no” type=”full_width” angled_section=”no” text_align=”left” background_image_as_pattern=”without_pattern”][vc_column width=”2/3″][vc_column_text] What a crazy time we are all experiencing. Right now, getting back to basics is most important. It is not and will not be business as usual right away. As leaders, you need to do the right thing to create an atmosphere of support with processes.

Pandemic adds to worries about hurricane season

An above-normal 2020 Atlantic hurricane season is expected, according to forecasters with NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center, a division of the National Weather Service. The outlook predicts a 60% chance of an above-normal season, a 30% chance of a near-normal season and only a 10% chance of a below-normal season. The Atlantic hurricane season runs from

The difference between leading and managing

[vc_row css_animation=”” row_type=”row” use_row_as_full_screen_section=”no” type=”full_width” angled_section=”no” text_align=”left” background_image_as_pattern=”without_pattern”][vc_column width=”2/3″][vc_column_text] Leadership and management are often misunderstood as one in the same. They are not. Certainly, a good leader should be able to manage and vice versa. But, it is important to understand the difference. Both are important to the success of an organization. The key difference

Flattening the housing curve in a pandemic

By Josh Migdal In the classic film Groundhog Day (and yes, it is a classic), Bill Murray’s character wakes up over and over again in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, reliving the same day for (presumably) eternity. Every morning, the alarm goes off at 6 a.m. playing I Got You Babe, assuring both the protagonist and the viewer