AR-News: Virginia moves toward artificial simulators for education

Tue Mar 2 20:16:30 EST 2004

From: Interniche-l at interniche.org

March 1, 2004 Monday

HEADLINE: U. Virginia moves toward artifical simulators for education

BYLINE: By Jayni Foley, Cavalier Daily; SOURCE: U. Virginia

DATELINE: CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va.

BODY:

The University of Virginia's Medical School plans to increase the use of
artificial simulators in its educational curriculum, offering more opportunities
for students and residents to practice realistic procedures on human models,
officials said recently.

The use of new technology gained relevance following Friday's
announcement that the University Medical Center will eliminate the use of dogs
in medical school teaching practices.

Nearly 75 percent of U.S. medical schools, including all of the nation's
top-10 ranked schools, have eliminated the use of live animals in their
curricula in favor of more modern alternatives such as observing live surgeries
or using new computer simulators, according to data from the Physicians
Committee for Responsible Medicine.

Marcus Martin, professor and chair of the department of emergency
medicine, said the use of simulators is not meant to replace the dog labs, but will
allow students and residents to practice emergency techniques similar to those
previously practiced on dogs in the emergency life-saving techniques lab,
offered to third-year medical students.

In December, the Medical School purchased an emergency care simulator,
made by Medical Education Technologies, Inc., using funds donated by the
Claude Moore Foundation. Martin said the $60,000 ECS is also known as
Standard Man, or "Stan the man".

Stan is a life-size, computerized mannequin that can be used to practice
procedures such as the insertion of chest tubes, needle decompression,
resuscitation and treating exposure to biological and chemical agents, he said.
The blinking and breathing mannequin is linked up to a computer and monitor
where blood pressure, pulse and respiratory rate can be observed.

"In simulated scenarios, students' pulse rates actually go up because
they feel the adrenaline rush of taking care of an actual patient," Martin said.

Rooshin Dalal, a medical student and co-founder of Citizens for Humane
Medicine, said these simulators are a superior way to teach life-saving
techniques.

"They let the medical students train in an environment where the anatomy is
identical to that of a human," Dalal said. "The placement is very realistic."

The American College of Surgeons recently approved the use of TraumaMan, a
human patient simulator, for use in Advanced Trauma Life Support courses, said
Nancy Harrison, a pathologist in private practice in San Diego. ATLS is a class
that physicians and residents must take to learn trauma care techniques.

The use of human patient simulators in conjunction with ATLS was found to
enhance trauma management skills, increase participant confidence and improve
trauma team behavior, according to the results of a 2001 study published in "The
Journal of Trauma: Injury, Infection, and Critical Care."

Laurence Hansen, professor of neuroscience and pathology at University of
California-San Diego, said the benefits of the simulators outweigh the costs
associated with using animals.

"With computerized simulators you can keep repeating the procedures," he
said. "With the dog, once you've killed the dog that's the end of it."

Martin said the Medical School plans to begin using the Emergency Care
Simulator in May or June in order to instruct third-year medical students in the
emergency surgery rotation.

"It hasn't been used to teach students yet," he said. "We're just
beginning to learn how to use it."

Martin said he foresees the university acquiring four or five models for use
during the next few years.

(C) 2003 Cavalier Daily via U-WIRE

LOAD-DATE: March 1, 2004

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