(May 1, 2007 – Littleton, Colo.) The newest edition to Arapahoe Community College’s Nursing program is a plasticized human manufactured by the Laerdal Medical corporation. This simulated human being (SimMan) has the ability to be diagnosed with many different conditions and combinations of conditions. It can be a man or a woman and has anatomically correct: organs, body parts and respiratory system. Further, ACC’s SimMan can retch, stop breathing, slow its heart beat, raise its blood pressure and display a limitless combination of other symptoms.

“SimMan is spookishly real,” said first-year nursing student Corri Holloway. “It’s very very realistic,” explains Kathy McCracken, another first-year nursing student. “SimMan talks back and makes real sounds,” she added. Nursing faculty member Gerilyn Rush concludes, “SimMan helps students transition to real life by enabling them to practice responding to scenarios that they need to experience but may not encounter during their clinical training.”

Not only does ACC’s new SimMan train students how to think on their feet and make the right decision at the right moment, it provides them a hands-on experience without having to worry about the malpractice concerns that would be possible with a real human patient. However, such technology has a cost. To make the acquisition of the Sim Man a reality for the College, the ACC Foundation turned to two sources. First, the Foundation tapped the proceeds coming from an endowment established by nursing program philanthropist Charles Manis. Second, the Foundation was able to secure a major contribution from Centura Health. Centura Health operates the Littleton and Porter Adventist Hospitals for which ACC aims to provide a trained nursing workforce and meets the educational needs of their current nursing staffs.

Thanks to this gift from Centura and Mr. Manis, ACC nursing faculty are now able to use a computer interface to set up different learning scenarios for their students to assess and treat changing conditions. Faculty can accomplish this via preprogrammed scenarios as well as customized situations. Additionally, the SimMan gives students the ability to perform tasks such as: suctioning, vital signs, physical assessments, insertion of catheters, placement of IVs, CPR, Defibrillation, and a wide range of other tasks. On top of all that, faculty also have the ability to speak for the “patient” and provide verbal clues as to the condition being exhibited.

One thing ACC’s Nursing students need to be aware of is SimMan’s ability to die if either the tasks are performed wrong, not in time, or, as in real life, for what seems like no reason at all. For ACC’s Nursing students, learning to come to terms with death and being able to perform under the high stress of it being a possible outcome will be something they can repeatedly refine their skills with, in a safe environment, thanks to the generosity of Centura Health and Charles Manis.

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