Texas Health Harris Methodist Hospital gave NBC DFW an inside look at its elite, state-of-the-art facility in Fort Worth.
The Amon G. Carter Medical Simulation Training Center is used to train students, doctors, nurses and technicians in the emergency medicine profession.
Physicians and students from all over Texas and across the U.S. have come to Texas Health Fort Worth to train. “In terms of geography it is open to everyone when we have courses,” said Dr. Shekhar Menon.
Students get a chance to practice and engage within the four stages of emergency medicine: ambulance training, emergency room, operating room, and the ICU.
Students can also practice with life-like mannequins that are programmed with “trauma scenarios.”
“The mannequins are anatomically and physiologically aligned to that of a human patient. The mannequins can blink, you can check their pupils, they can hear and see their breath, you can check their vitals, they have a pulse, and they can talk,” said Dr. Menon.
The students have to diagnose the mannequin’s health issue, which allows for the student to exercise their critical thinking skills. Students also perform procedures on the mannequins, which cost approximately $300,000 each.
Local
The latest news from around North Texas.
Doctors said the mannequins are worth their value because the training will help save lives. “You can put breathing tubes down them. You can perform CPR on them, you can put catheters in them,” he said.
There are other major benefits of the simulation lab that cannot be taught in the classroom. “The vast majority of medical errors are due to teamwork and communication. The simulation lab allows for doctors to coordinate with nurses, and nurses to work with technicians, and really all three working together," said Dr. Menon.
"It’s the face-to-face interaction that can help build communication skills in the ER."
The facility has been open for two years, and is the only one of its kind in the state of Texas.
For more information. click here.
