Simulating Emergencies

This health video shows how emergency simulation can help doctors and nurses deal with the real thing.

Jennifer Matthews: A seven-year-old boy is thrown in a car wreck and rushed to a nearby ER. The child's mother is a distraction. Everyone's talking at once. What if someone makes a mistake? Mary Patterson: Some of the cases are actual cases where we know something wasn't right, or we could have done better. Jennifer Matthews: Actually, Doctor Mary Patterson is just playing the role of a distraught, distracting mother. And, the patient is an interactive simulator. It's all part of a unique training exercise to reduce errors at Cincinnati Children's Hospital. Mary Patterson: It seemed that the simulator was an incredible tool for adult education but also a really intuitively a really good way to teach safety, to teach teamwork. Jennifer Matthews: Technicians control the scenarios, and sessions are taped for debriefing. The training stresses using key communication skills, overcoming intimidation and working as a team. Mary Patterson: Many will tell you, many of the nurses in particular, will tell you this is the first time they've ever done any kind of training with a physician. Jennifer Matthews: Knowing that the wrong medicine or decision could be deadly makes it authentic. Jennifer Ross: Oh yeah, it makes you think. It makes you learn, remember things. Jennifer Matthews: Ultimately, Doctor Patterson believes safety will increase for patients real or not. This is Jennifer Matthews reporting.