Sometimes she chokes and turns blue. Her tongue swells, and the soft fontanel on her little head sinks if she is dehydrated or bulges when she is hemorrhaging.
Simantha’s attacks started earlier this summer after the nursing department threw a huge baby shower for her, complete with flowers, a baby blanket, stuffed animals, and plenty of girlie outfits.
Fortunately, nursing students knew what to do to save the infant. Even if they had killed her, they could have quickly brought her back to life.
Simantha cost about $28,000, while the department’s numerous adult versions cost about $35,000 each, said college spokeswoman Kalie Kelch.
The funding for the human-like equipment came from federal Perkins and Title III grants and from the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia Equipment Trust Fund, she said.
Students won’t actually get to use the Sim Baby until this fall, but a few lucky women who graduated from the LFCC nursing program last week got a sneak peek at her.
“It would’ve been a good experience to use the Sim Baby. The students next year will really benefit from it,” said student Amie Bailey, who before her clinical rotation had never held a baby before.
Students get the benefit of dealing with critical infant scenarios before they ever touch a real baby — and a real baby won’t have to endure a bunch of hands reaching around to feel a pulse.
Marshall has two specific goals for the Sim Baby next semester. Second-year associate degree nursing students will learn body systems on the mannequin, and the LPN students will use her when they’re learning about basic vital signs.
Kimberly McNulty, one of the recent nursing graduates, said the Sim Baby should provide the same type of practical experience that the department’s new Sim Man gave students last semester.
That’s important since one student’s real patient “coded” in the clinical setting, and she knew how to respond because the same scenario had been simulated on the mannequin in class.
“Reading about respiration sounds in a textbook didn’t actually help us understand, but when we could hear it on the Sim Man, it made sense,” she said.
The Sim Man also gave her some non-threatening practice at inserting a catheter. Practicing this on a patient could get a bit awkward, and no one wants to be a catheterization guinea pig.
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