Nurses Practice Birthing With Simulated Drills
by Juli McDonald KFYR TV
Posted on 4/30/2010
|
|
For professionals in the medical field, textbooks are important, but hands-on experience is crucial. Many women would probably love to press pause while they’re delivering their baby. However, that right is reserved for nursing students.
Bismarck State College students and St. Alexius labor and delivery nurses had the opportunity today to practice various labor situations on a very lifelike mannequin.
“She’s mechanical. I operate her. We can pause her at different points and ask questions which stimulate the nurses to think critically and respond appropriately,” said clinical instructor JoAnn Wangler.
High risk procedures and emergency situations are infrequent during labor, so the simulated system allows nurses to practice techniques they won’t always use, but definitely need to be comfortable doing.
“It’s an actual simulation in a safe environment, so when an emergency does occur in an actual situation, they’re well prepared, they’ve gone through what they should do, the positions they can put the mother in. Things can happen to both the mother and the baby, so they practice different positions they can use with the baby,” said Wangler.
From young students hoping to pursue a nursing career, to registered nurses who have been practicing for years, the simulated system offers learning opportunities and refreshers for everyone.
“Many of these situations are fortunately very rare, so the review and actual hands-on experience as an update for any nurse, no matter how long you worked in labor and delivery is really valuable I think,” said labor and delivery nurse Deb Leingang.
The Joint Commission recently recommended that more simulated systems be used by professionals and students as learning tools.
Many of the BSC nursing students fulfill their clinicals at St. Alexius, so as a thank you, the St. A`s nurses were invited to use the system for skill validation.