You’re in the middle of an ER, and the order of the day is “chaos.” On one side of you, a patient with multiple gunshots is being wheeled in, on the other, a car accident victim is screaming from the pain of a crushed limb. Overwrought family members are demanding your attention. One mistake could cost someone their life, and a homeless man with schizophrenia is raving at the top of his lungs and coming straight at you.

How can a new student possibly prepare for this?

Ask Stan.

Stan is a mannequin. But instead of modeling the latest fashions, he’s modeling the latest technologies. He breathes. He blinks. He has a pulse that can race or become thready. He complains about painful sensations or discomfort. He can be a woman. And he’s invaluable.

“Stan is a tool for teaching teamwork in a clinical and community context,” says Sharla King, director of the Health Sciences Education and Research Commons (HSERC). Stan, Sven and several other mannequins are being used at HSERC to allow students to face the challenges of medical procedures in a safe environment. The name is short for “standardized man;” Stan is not anyone really, but he can be everyone. With Stan, students can practice their skills, over and over. They can make the mistakes that are a part of learning without fatal consequences.

That doesn’t mean that it’s without stress.

Shu Juan Zhou is a physical therapy student who has just finished her first year. Early on, Shu Juan and 200 other students from several institutions attended the ‘Save Stan’ event. Students from nursing, respiratory therapy, medicine, occupational health and other disciplines experienced multiple situations, from a trauma bay to palliative care. “It was a great eye-opener,” Shu Juan says. “It was nice to see that other people are struggling with things that I struggle with, and that we’re all learning together.”

This is at the core of what makes the Save Stan event so important: not the technology, but the interprofessional nature of the simulations. From a high risk delivery to home care, all are team situations. “We had interprofessional classes but this was my first real experience of working with other disciplines. To see first-hand what the roles of the other disciplines are, and to get a chance to work with them in a safe place.”

Working with a mannequin provides a safe opportunity to fail - and learn.

Sharla KingDirector of HSERC

Can you

SAVE STANSAVE STAN?

8 - INTERACTIONS: Health Sciences Council Annual Report 2011-2012

Many of the students are at different levels in their education. And yet they work together and learn from each other, Sharla says. And by putting everyone in the same simulation, the hierarchy is removed, the playing field is leveled. It changes all the rules, for the better.

“More and more is going into the curriculum,” Sharla says, “and at the same time, our patient care is becoming more and more complex. We need to teach students differently.” And the collaborative nature of the event is working. “We had students from respiratory therapy at NAIT teach the U of A students intubation.”

The unique nature of the Save Stan event is working for everyone. “We are providing experiences for students that probably wouldn’t happen otherwise,” Sharla says. “We link in with health providers, and when they teach, they learn as well.” Everybody is learning from everybody else.

The new building is an essential part of the equation. “Space is a catalyst,” Sharla says. “We wouldn’t be having this conversation if we were still in three little rooms in another building.” And the Save Stan event is a perfect example of the mission of the HSC. “The HSC is about facilitating and providing opportunities for students and for instructors that focus on interprofessional education, collaborative practice, teams. Something that faculties couldn’t do on their own easily.”

The beauty is that the partnerships go beyond the different disciplines. As Sharla says, “Save Stan is an event in collaboration with the University of Alberta, NAIT, MacEwan, NorQuest and Alberta Health Services. We’re nothing without our partners.”

Stan is teaching students more than diagnosis. He is teaching them teamwork, he is showing them the roles of other disciplines, and he is giving everyone a chance to get along and provide the best care possible.

Not bad for a mannequin.

“This is even cooler than I thought it would be. Is there any way to make this a credit course?

Student Post on Facebook

Specialized mannequins can even deliver

mannequin babies.

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INTERACTIONS: Health Sciences Council Annual Report 2011-2012 - 9