Preston Waters
Nursing Skills Lab Implements New Bariatric Manikin
Southern’s School of Nursing is the first nursing school and only the second health-care program in the United States to utilize the R42 Bariatric Manikin, newly released this year. The manikin provides nursing students with needed experience as they care for patients with different body types.
In skills labs, manikins allow students to practice checking vital signs, inserting nasal gastric tubes, and changing the dressings on wounds.
“Our goal is always to simulate reality as much as we can,” explains Kerry Allen, associate professor and skills lab coordinator in the School of Nursing. “We want students to interact with manikins that mimic what they’re going to see in a hospital setting.”
The name R42 references the 42% of Americans who are obese, with the manikin simulating a person weighing 300 pounds. It is 3D printed, with a realistic skin texture and fully articulated limbs.
Allen explains that understanding different body types — and the skills needed in each situation — is beneficial for many of the tasks that nurses undertake, such as turning patients in the bed or changing the bedding while the bed is occupied.
Because of Southern’s investment in learning, students have the chance to practice on various types of patients in the skills lab before they enter a hospital, better preparing them to work in actual medical situations. The newest manikin is one more step in maintaining a strong program where students can learn the skills they need to succeed.
Southern Adventist University | December 2024
Comments are closed.