Sutter Maternity & Surgery Center of Santa Cruz welcomed the Sutter Health mobile simulation lab back into town for its second training on Oct. 20.
In this round of training, participants responded to a patient having post-surgery arrhythmias, or change in heartbeat rhythm.
After a classroom training led by the center’s educators, participants arrived at the lab and started with a prebrief. During the simulation, the staff apply what they learned in the classroom session, said Sutter’s manager of clinical education Brandon Fisher.
Sutter staff trainings.
The staff recognize the change in vital signs and intervene with medications and a shock. Then, the patient loses a pulse and the team moves on to CPR, responding to the mannequin as they would a patient—working together to save the simulated patient’s life.
Featuring two full simulation rooms with accompanying control rooms, high-tech mannequins and real hospital equipment, the lab is designed to give participants the most authentic experience possible—without being real.
“We always want to be ready for the worst things that can happen in healthcare,” said Stephanie Connor Kent, CEO of Sutter Maternity & Surgery Center. “We try to avoid patients getting really sick, but our teams really need to practice for if they take a turn.”
Fisher said the mobile simulation lab was designed to bring high-quality, hands-on clinical training to care teams across the Sutter system. It’s also believed to be the first of its kind in California, he said.
“We’ve gone up and down the state trying to get to all of our Sutter employees, regardless of where they live or where they work,” Fisher said.
A team of five travels with the unit: Fisher, lead educator Cory Berthiaume, two simulation specialists and one full-time driver. At 44 feet long and a little over 40,000 pounds, the mobile lab requires a driver with a Class B license and an airbrake endorsement to maneuver it throughout the state.
Previously, Sutter employees were sent in pairs or small groups to the brick-and-mortar training facilities in Sacramento, Roseville and Modesto for training. The mobile lab allows for participants to train in the teams they care with, which Connor Kent said is valuable for building teamwork and communication skills.
The team leads groups of about six participants through simulations designed to meet the hospital’s needs. At the hospital’s request, the lab can give nurses continuing education credit, Berthiaume said.
Sutter has over 10 mannequins designed to be as lifelike as possible and range in age and circumstances, including one that gives birth. The team takes one or two with them on each training trip, leaving the rest for the brick-and-mortar sites running training for the more local hospitals.
Blinking, breathing, heartbeat, pulse rate, sweating and more can all be controlled by a specialist from the accompanying control room. Tattoo sleeves on the mannequin’s arms hold a rubber tube underneath, allowing the participants to start an IV and push medications instead of just verbalizing the process.
The lab can run training sessions for the majority of Sutter’s facilities, including ambulatory care, outpatient surgery centers and hospitals.
The entirety of the center’s nursing staff cycled through the lab throughout its three days in Santa Cruz.
“It is just such a gift to have this level of hands-on simulation and training and an expert team with it to help facilitate it,” Connor Kent said.
Syd Fluker is a California Local News Fellow. Visit fellowships.journalism.berkeley.edu/cafellows.
