The implementation of the Human Patient Simulator in the Simulation Lab enhances students’ clinical experiences. The faculty creates clinical scenarios and/or health related conditions that look and feel real, but in a safe environment. The simulators respond to learners’ decisions and actions. This gives learners the opportunity to perform assessments, apply learned theoretical concepts, make clinical decisions, and practice skills without fear of patient harm.
Cochran School of Nursing has twelve Human Patient Simulators (HPS), four are high fidelity, which are physiologic models of a human. There are two simulators that replicate a six-foot-adult, one that replicates a six-year-old -child and one that replicates a newborn. Physiologic responses such as cardiovascular, respiratory, neurological, and pharmacological are triggered from learners’ interventions or inaction. The simulators are computer controlled to replicate human physiology such as heartbeat, pulse, respiration, eye movement and sweating. The simulation lab is equipped with a video capturing system which is used to record the simulation experience to give feedback to learners.