| Simulators throughout History include:
Nineteenth century Martha Chase dolls helped new mothers learn how to care for their infants
Flight Simulators were used in WWI
Modern simulators include the popular video game, Guitar Hero
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Medical Knowledge Is a Necessity
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Co-Directors Paul Leonard, MD and Ann Willemsen-Dunlap PhD, CRNA initiated a program that ties simulation experiences to trainee rotations. These training sessions utilize the Center’s METI (Medical Education Technologies, Inc.) adult human patient simulator and the METI BabySim to engage Anesthesia residents, student registered nurse anesthetists and medical students in learning to manage both routine and unusual cases in various environments, including the operating room, intensive care unit, emergency rooms and Labor and Delivery, to name a few.
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Teamwork Is a Teachable Skill
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The Simulator Center in the Department of Anesthesia at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics has reason to pay attention to the 1989 crash of a DC-10 in Sioux City, Iowa . After a critical equipment failure, the crew managed to get the plane onto the ground and 184 of the 296 passengers survived. National experts noted this as an example of remarkable teamwork, not just aircraft handling skills. Thanks to the teamwork training instituted by the airline industy to improve safety, this crew knew that:
- Teamwork is more than just speaking the same language.
- Teamwork is more than simply respecting each other.
- Teamwork is more than wanting the best for your passengers or patients.
Medicine has taken a long look at decades of airline crew management training and determined that these practices can be applied to the realm of healthcare. Aviation safety has demonstrated that:
- Teamwork takes time to learn.
- Teamwork can be practiced.
- These skills are the difference between a team of experts and an expert team.
- Effective teamwork saves lives.
Our Simulator Center embraces the practice of the basic skills but firmly believes that those skills are enhanced beyond measure by practicing working with the team you get in times of crisis. Our hospital wide Crisis Resource Management sessions have become an intergral part of our program.
You may contact the center directly by calling 319-384-6267 or by emailing Johann Cutkomp, Simulator operations manager, at johann-cutkomp@uiowa.edu.
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