The University of Nebraska Medical Center Simulation in Motion-Nebraska program (SIM-NE) will resume in-person training across the state beginning June 1. SIM-NE staff suspended in-person training in March 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
SIM-NE staff use four customized, 44-foot-long trucks to provide state-of-the-art training to enhance lifesaving skills at the request of emergency medical service (EMS) organizations and health professionals at hospitals in rural areas across the state.
The trucks feature a simulated emergency room and ambulance with mock drugs and medical supplies, as well as high-tech, computerized patient simulators that can talk, breathe, have heartbeats and react to medications and other actions of the learners. In the truck’s control room, staff can program medical and trauma scenarios with the simulators with audio and video recording and playback capabilities for feedback. Vital signs of the patient simulators are displayed on heart monitors and defibrillators.
“The trainers and staff of SIM-NE are excited to begin on-site training again,” said Doug Dekker, program manager of SIM-NE. “During the pandemic SIM-NE was not able to safely deliver our on-site training. The program has been able to deliver highly relevant and scientifically-based information to our rural providers virtually, but there is no substitute for the best practice simulation training that SIM-NE delivers in-person,” he said.
Dekker said in addition to in-person training, SIM-NE staff will continue to offer four monthly, individual virtual training sessions and, if requested, group virtual training sessions.
Since the last in-person training in February 2020, SIM-NE staff have held 63 training events virtually through Zoom and Facebook Live, which provided training for 3,607 people from 644 different agencies in 19 states stretching from California to Connecticut, and one student from Indonesia.
Since its launch in 2017, SIM-NE staff have conducted trainings in 89 of 93 Nebraska counties and provided training to 7,267 individuals.
SIM-NE was initially funded with a grant from the Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust. The funding supported initial start-up costs and provided training at no cost. With the grant completed, staff hope to provide training at no or low cost. Gifts to support SIM-NE can be made at unmc.edu/sim-ne.
Rural emergency medical service agencies and critical access hospitals can request training at www.unmc.edu/SIM-NE. For more information, email sim-ne@unmc.edu or call (402) 559-4863.
SIM-NE is part of UNMC’s iEXCELSM initiative, a transformative program to revolutionize health care education and training. The goal is to improve quality and safety and reduce costs of patient care through practicing, honing and improving patient care skills using simulation before encountering real patients, as well as learning to work as high-functioning teams.
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