Data Management with Medical Simulation Software

Simulation center administrators are bombarded with information on a daily basis. Audio-video recordings, user information, scheduling of rooms and equipment, inventory, center usage statistics—the list goes on. But simply put, medical simulation software can turn an admin's stress into success!

Let's imagine a hypothetical administrator. Joe has worked in the nursing simulation center at Tri-County College for three years. He likes working with technology, and also helping clinical learners (nursing students and practicing nurses) hone skills and obtain mastery, leading to better patient outcomes. Over five hundred learners enter into the center every semester. But fortunately for Joe, the nursing simulation center has just been equipped with a state of the art medical simulation software platform.

Joe starts his morning with a cup of coffee – and a quick perusal of the center's schedule via his mobile device. He sees that three sets of six learners will be participating in mock code simulation sessions today. The medical simulation software allows him to view the schedule for each of the sessions, including the start and end times, the participants involved, and the equipment needed. Participants may include nursing learners, faculty, and standardized patients (SPs). Equipment may include high-fidelity simulators (mannequins), medical devices, crash carts, and drugs or other disposable supplies. With the medical simulation software, Joe can be sure that everything needed to run a session – or a series of sessions – will be booked and ready at hand on time, every time.

Instructors and faculty members, or Joe as the center administrator, can also upload documents and information needed for the sessions via the medical simulation software. Learners might access electronic health records (EHRs), charts and diagrams, and health histories. And SPs might access checklists and case descriptions to help them perform their roles more effectively.

Joe can also schedule the audio-video recording to automatically coincide with each session. Within the medical simulation software audio-video control panel, Joe selects the rooms and enters the start and stop times of each session. He can also pre-record messages or cues to the learners that will play over the intercom.

After the sessions take place, Joe can assist course instructors in viewing the audio-video recordings so that they can debrief with their learners, make assessments, and score performance. The medical simulation software also allows instructors to view sessions after the fact. Instructors can even make bookmarks on live or recorded videos, and tag videos for quick reference between learners, courses, and curricula.

At the end of the day, Joe uses the medical simulation software to confirm that sufficient equipment and supplies will be available for the next round of sessions. He can also set up email templates that inform faculty and learners about upcoming sessions they're involved in, or even a weekly or monthly calendar. It's easy for Joe to refine every activity today to ensure smooth operations tomorrow.

How many learners access the simulation center on a daily, weekly, or monthly basis? What are the usage trends between semesters? Does the center have the time and space availability to open its doors to the community: healthcare groups such as clinics and hospitals, EMT training programs, community colleges, and STEM high schools that don't have robust simulation training facilities of their own? With medical simulation software, Joe can globally assess center, room, and equipment usage to get answers to all of these questions.

Data management with medical simulation software is good for center administrators like Joe because it streamlines the capture, organization, and analysis of all the various information sources. The center can then run more smoothly, ensuring learners receive the best possible training—and great training leads to more fully developed skills, and most importantly, better clinical results for patients. With medical simulation software, Joe is one happy simulation center admin.

Learn more about medical simulation software at SIMULATIONiQ.com.

Author Bio

The author of the article has extensive experience in the field of Medical Simulation Software and Simulation And Deliberate Practice.

The author of the article has an extensive experience in the field of Simulation and Deliberate Practice.