By GREGORY ZELLER //
Oh, baby – it’s the birth of a new era at Adelphi University, which has delivered a breakthrough simulator to meet the expectations of nursing students.
And for the record, make that oh, babies – Victoria, a maternal/fetal simulator created by Florida-based Gaumard Scientific, arrives today at Adelphi’s College of Nursing and Public Health with not one but two tots in tow, all part of a slate of hyper-realistic childbirth simulations.
How realistic, you boldly ask? Not only does Victoria – wireless, tetherless and battery-operated for up to 10 labor-intensive hours – birth a kinda bloody, full-term baby, but the anatomically accurate automaton features several lifelike talents designed to engage and challenge students: interactive eyes that react to different stimuli, programmable airway and breathing parameters, even automatic recognition of (and reaction to) more than 50 medications.
Bloody good: As real as it gets.
The babies are bouncing, too, arriving with a number of birthing challenges – from dystocia to breech to a full-on emergency C-section – and “programmable vitals” for changeable APGAR scoring.
Those scores do tend to change: From early-pregnancy complications to high-risk deliveries and even postpartum emergencies, Victoria and her kids are one dramatic and exciting bunch, providing a “full range of obstetrical events to facilitate teamwork and deepen critical thinking skills in learners of all levels,” according to Adelphi University.
Their ability to challenge what students expect when they’re nursing the expecting makes the advanced android and her twins ideal additions to “the state-of-the-art training facilities that we provide for students,” according to Anthony Egan, the nursing school’s assistant director of faculty support.
Watch this: Nope, not creepy at all.
“These devices can simulate about any situation that healthcare providers face in the real world,” Egan said. “We control responses to treatment that students apply and can create scenarios that very accurately depict what happens during medical procedures.”
According to Adelphi, the College of Nursing and Public Health is the first facility on Long Island to incorporate Gaumard Scientific’s birthing super-simulator.
And the fabricated family figures to fit right in: The college – which introduced Victoria et al at a special “birthday party” for staff, students and visitors Thursday in Nexus Hall – already boasts a large selection of animated manikins in its simulation labs and training facilities.
Victoria – who usefully “converts into a non-pregnant patient for general nursing and gynecology training” – is one of a number of (rather creepily named) training robots manufactured by Gaumard Scientific. Her wireless/tetherless siblings include advanced nursing care patient Susie and “multipurpose patient simulator” Hal, who ricochets from prehospital nursing care to trauma care, depending on how his day is going.
