SIMULATION-BASED TRAINING AT SSM HEALTH CARDINAL GLENNON

Simulation-based education and training is a vital tool for hospitals to train physicians, nurses, and other staff in responding to emergencies. With the help of donor support and in partnership with the Saint Louis University School of Medicine, a dedicated space opened last year at SSM Health Cardinal Glennon called the Clinical Simulation Lab. The lab includes dedicated areas for newborn, infant, child, and adolescent simulations, equipped with advanced technology, state-of-the-art medical equipment, and realistic patient simulators called manikins. Medical manikins are designed to replicate real patients in weight and movement and even have veins and airways that can be used in a wide range of simulated medical procedures.

Simulations have expanded from pediatric resident training to also include medical student simulations as part of the curriculum at Saint Louis University School of Medicine. Training exercises range from incidents occurring at the bedside, in the emergency department, in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU), and in the pediatric intensive care unit (PICU).

Beth Hankamer, MSN, BS, RN, simulation clinical educator, is the full-time coordinator for the simulation exercises developed in the lab. She says, “Thanks to our partnership with the School of Medicine and SSM Health, we have other dedicated facilities locally for comprehensive nursing and medical simulations. But having a dedicated simulation lab for training on-site using pediatric manikins and our hospital’s own equipment enhances the training we offer and, ultimately, the care we provide to our young patients here in our own hospital.”