The transition from a safe classroom environment to being a patient facing front-end doctor can be chaotic, tension filled and fraught with incidents. There is now fortunately, a safer approach which would eliminate most of these anxiousness and helplessness, when one is a certified trainer and critical care provider. The person must have spent forty hours or more in their college’s simulation lab. This is the critical transition from feeling helpless and incapable to feeling confident and empowered.

While clinical skills such as setting up an IV line, delivering a sub-cutanous injection does not cause the intern or resident to hold his breath, the challenges on working in ICU, OT, Emergency ward or a Primary Health Care centre might still create angst and stress!

The myriad combination of differing scenarios which unfold everyday, challenges the doctor in terms of identifying the most critical condition, stabilising this and then moving onto the next. Also, patient condition could change in a few minutes forcing the attending doctor to change his thought process, and apply their mind on the new running scenario.

WELCOME, to Simulation world! By helping recreate such complex, not so complex scenarios broken up into four of five steps sets up a team of doctors to organise themselves well and delivering good quality patient care.

Today’s technology, the Laerdal kind of simulation solutions offers an insight to a whole new virtual patient world. One could stage a scenario, with for example;

As Patient presents himself in Emergency ward : Short of breath, unable to walk without support, sweaty and confused! The team would rush check SPO2, take an ECG and hope to see a patient experiencing heart attack, but if it is not heart Attack, then the mind might go blank for some moments!

Patient deteriorates after two minutes : Attending team needs to improvise, use critical care equipments available to prevent the patient from becoming unresponsive. Here use of a lot of hospital equipment such as Defibrillator, suction, oxygen delivery would be an essential part

Patient worsens : The patient may get into a cardiac arrest, kicking off the process of announcing ‘Code Blue’, promptly starting CPR and connecting a defib as soon as possible. Typically, a few cycles of CPR might help get the patient out of cardiac arrest.

All these changes in state of health of the patient are displayed on the patient vitals monitor, helping the team track the patient’s response.

These testing moments in dozens of variations pointing to cardiac arrest, stroke, anaphylaxis or sepsis – is an everyday presentation il large busy hospitals. Hence, the importance of simulation. Laerdal has a simulation software framework called LLEAP(Laerdal Learning Application), which allows configuration and selection of scenarios across a wide section of its manikins like SimMan 3G+, SimMoM, SiMBaby, Nursing Anne Simulator and Resusci Anne.

LLEAP allows an instructor to build his own scenario or take an existing scenario, modify, personalise and run it. Lleap is a intitive software which you can use to set parameter by parameter based on conditions; ex. Heart, tachycardia could be a condition, with a specific heart rate. Respiratory rate could also be running high, without a corresponding level of SPO2. Like this the triaging and diving down to the right procedures to be down to alter the life threatening condition is an example of how a simulation scenario step could be run.

LLEAP allows you to control the physiology of the simulator and every other parameter of your training session - both in-situ and in simulation center settings.

Scenario training is easier with LLEAP. Run "on-the-fly", or utilize pre-programmed scenarios for a simple and effective way to run large-scale simulations. LEAP provides an immersive and realistic experience for learners by allowing them to practice on a simulator and a patient monitor. It also includes a license key that provides access to manual mode, automatic mode, and a log viewer application

Using Laerdal LLEAP software, an instructor can connect to SimMan 3G, SimMom, SimBaby, Nursing Anne Simulator or even Resusci Anne simulator.

Hoping that this information gets you started on your simulation journey. Do remember simulation is as effective as the real lifelike simulator manikins and their physiology, the easy to use intuitive nature of the simulation software and your role as an instructor in carrying the participants along with you so that everyone has a remarkable and successful simulation to talk about!