Perspectives Winter/Spring 2018

Dr. Pallavi Patel College of Health Care Sciences 23 Each drug we normally administer during a typical anes- thetic has been programmed to elicit the same response, with changes in breathing, muscle relaxation, heart rate, blood pressure, and EKG. All this is accomplished without any instructor input thanks to the superb computer program tailored for just anesthesia training. You might be wondering, if the simulator is so lifelike, can we accidentally kill him? Well, yes and no. If a student should intubate the esophagus instead of the trachea or give an inappropriate drug, the simulator will react appropriately to the mistake. The student can correct the problem if he or she recogniz- es the failing vital signs and takes the appropriate steps to resolve the problem in a timely manner. If not, the simulator will continue to manifest changes in heart rate, blood pres- sure, saturation, and EKG arrhythmias and ultimately develop ventricular fibrillation and death. The good news is there will be no families grieving the loss of a loved one, no lawsuits, and no sleepless nights for the student. An untimely death of our high-fidelity simulator to be sure, but, thankfully, only until the program is restarted. A lesson has been learned by the student, and the mistake is hopefully never repeated. Looking back on my training, I have to admit that my first day in the operating room would have been much less stressful if I had the opportunity to be prepared with the high-tech equipment we offer our anesthesia students today. This is definitely one of those situations where the good old days were not that good. ● Assembled high-fidelity simulators await shipment to their new training facility. A simulator is prepared for final assembly and testing.