By Emma Bowen Meyer, For The Herald Bulletin
ANDERSON, Ind. — No amount of classroom training can beat real-life experience in any field.
In a field where the stakes are as high as life and death, technology is marrying training and hands-on experience with an interactive life-sized doll named Noel.
Noel is a mannequin that can “birth” a baby.
Nurses at Saint John’s Birthing Center use her to train for not only normal birthing procedures, but also emergency situations that seldom arise and require the quick thinking of personnel.
“It is pretty realistic,” said Sarah Hughes, manager of the Birthing Center and nurse at Saint John’s since 1999. “The computer talks for her. She does everything a normal patient would do.”
“Everything” is not an exaggeration — the mannequin will even change color depending on her condition as prescribed by the instructor’s constraints entered into the computer and the results of the nurses’ care.
If the nurses are not responding with the proper care, the color will not improve or may even grow worse.
“I enjoyed it very much because it is as lifelike as you can get,” added Stacey Young, Birthing Center educator. “It helps to visualize possible outcomes. I’ve had a couple of emergency situations — one with a baby and one with the mother and baby — and I felt like the Noel doll better prepared me and I felt more confident.”
While the mannequin has been available to the hospital for three years, a recent purchase by Ascension Health has reduced the number of hospitals that share the device. Now she remains at Saint John’s Birthing Center for a full six months out of the year.
In addition to routine cervical checks, intubations, beginning IVs, and assisting the piston-delivered baby, nurses also attend to simulations programmed into the computer including a prolapsed cord, postpartum hemorrhage, cardiac arrest, and C-section delivery.
“Every year we determine what we need to review by going through emergency situations that arise,” said Kara Brown, director of Women’s Services and Birthing Center. “It’s a great tool to have.”
While the rare emergency situations require the greatest expertise, they are not a matter of routine experience while on the floor as a nurse. Noel is part of keeping necessary skills sharp.
“Some of these situations are pretty rare. Even if you’ve had some here, not all the nurses would experience it,” added Randy Titus, communication specialist for the hospital. “You want to be ready.”
Meet Noel
The independent baby doll can simulate amniotic pulse and turns blue if it needs to be resuscitated. CPR can be performed on either Noel, the mannequin that resembles a mother, or the baby.
Some emergency simulations only involve the baby, some only involve the mother, and others involve both.
If nurses attend to the baby properly, the computer responds by allowing regular coloring to return to the skin and the vital signs to return to normal.
“You want to make the simulation as life-like as you can,” said Kara Brown, director of Women’s Services and Birthing Center.
