A new simulation facility was inaugurated at the Meenakshi College of Nursing at Kottakudi in the district to provide a platform for nurses and paramedic staff to learn to deal with patients in distress.
Chairman, Meenakshi Mission Hospital and Research Centre, S. Gurushankar, inaugurated it here on Monday. The simulation lab has a total of 28 ‘medi-kits’ and mannequins that can be programmed to produce life-like patient symptoms and diseases that nurses maybe exposed to in an emergency room or operation theatre.
Dr. Gurushankar said the controlled environment would provide a great scope for increased learning and better-prepared staff. The simulation lab constructed for a total of ₹ 50 lakh will provide hands-on experience for areas, including general check-up, paediatrics and gynaecology.
“Earlier, we would learn through books. Nurses were then exposed to problems and complications only in the emergency room where there is little scope for learning. Simulation would now bring a major change in healthcare education,” he said. Dr. Gurushankar also said it was pertinent to teach all members of society cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) as it would help in emergency response and save lives.
Narendra Nath Jena, Head of Department, Emergency Medicine, said that government hospitals in India must step up their emergency response facilities and save lives within the ‘golden hour’- the first one hour of the accident.
He said that the simulation lab would provide better focused training for students.
J. Jayashanti, Principal, Meenakshi College for Nursing, said that nurses often end up spending between 16-17 hours with patients and must receive as much exposure as possible prior to entering the field.