BMCC AND METI UNVEIL FIRST PEDIATRIC SIMULATOR IN NEW YORK
PediaSim is innovative tool in training students to treat children
Continuing its investment in state-of-the-art educational technology, Borough of Manhattan Community College (BMCC) is announcing the acquisition of New York City’s first PediaSim, a child-size Pediatric Patient Simulator that replicates the many pediatric traumas a caregiver may face.
The PediaSim is a “plug and play” lifelike mannequin developed by Medical Education Technologies, Inc., (METI) that completely represents a pediatric patient. It breathes, has a pulse, and its eyes constrict and dilate in response to changing neurologic conditions. The system is driven by complex software based on sophisticated mathematical models of human physiology and pharmacology.
Used in conjunction with a portable remote personal computer, a trained instructor can use the PediaSim as a “practice patient,” simulating a range of complex medical conditions from head traumas to head colds. The PediaSim reacts realistically to various treatments, allowing the instructor to accurately assess the actions of a student in treating a pediatric patient.
According to BMCC President Antonio PÉrez, the PediaSim will be a valuable tool in training students enrolled in the college’s Departments of Allied Health Sciences and Nursing.
“These students are training for careers that involve life and death decisions, which makes it imperative that they have access to the most current technology,” President PÉrez says. “The PediaSim will give these students the opportunity to train with our experienced faculty in the most realistic, hands-on situation available. It represents an important step in advancing BMCC’s education of the nurses, paramedics, and respiratory therapists of tomorrow.”
During training sessions, students can perform a diverse set of actions and interventions. For example, the realistic upper airway enables professionals to direct laryngoscopy and tracheal intubation. PediaSim’s heart also generates sounds, including a range of pathological ones, and students can measure arterial blood pressure. Drug reactions can be monitored and scenarios such as hypothermia, head trauma, allergic reactions, and cardiac arrest can be generated.
“PediaSim actually bridges the wide gap between text book, classroom learning, and actual clinical works,” says Lou Oberndorf, president of METI. “Most students have limited exposure, for obvious reasons, to pediatric patients during their training. With PediaSim, students can repeatedly practice everything from routine procedures to once-in-a-lifetime crises without the risk of harming a real child or without discomfort to the patient or concerned parents.”
In addition to the PediaSim, BMCC is one of more than 90 institutions in the country that utilizes METI’s adult Human Patient Simulator (HPS) in its health care programs. President PÉrez points out that the PediaSim will prove to be a valuable complementary tool to the HPS.
“The PediaSim is the closest our students can come to training on pediatric patients without working on actual children,” President PÉrez says. “Because of the uniqueness of our allied health sciences programs, and because we are among the top five colleges granting associate degrees in nursing in New York State, it is imperative that we provide our students with this training opportunity. It is through the use of technology such as the PediaSim that BMCC can maintain its status as one of the premiere community colleges in the country.”
Borough of Manhattan Community College provides quality educational programs and services to 16,000 students in 21 degree programs and to 8,000 in continuing education programs. Nationally, BMCC ranks #1 in awarding associate degrees to African Americans, #2 in awarding associate degrees to minorities, and has the only nationally accredited paramedic program in New York State and the only respiratory therapy degree program in The City University of New York. BMCC’s web site is /
Medical Education Technologies, Inc. (METI), headquartered in Sarasota, Florida, is a leading manufacturer of medical simulation products and services. METI also offers turnkey simulator based training programs utilized by leading pharmaceutical and medical equipment companies, as well as leading supply cost management organizations. Their training programs are a unique marketing tool used in the introduction of new drugs and equipment in providing initial and/or continuing education to sales representatives and their customers. Visit METI’s web site at http://www.meti.com
