By Emory Austin
Hugo Espinoza’s blood pressure is at a critical level.
Two students in blue scrubs rush to his side.
In a room of 12 beds, Hugo is their number one priority.
They attach the blood pressure monitor to his arm.
After determining the next steps, they gauge the medicine he needs.
Once they give it to him, instructor Valerie Leuranguer will register his condition from an iPad.
In this scenario, Hugo Espinoza isn’t a real person.
He is one of the 12 other mannequins that lie in the simulation lab at Front Range Community College.
This simulation lab, located in Grays Peaks, is a new feature of the nursing program at FRCC.
Students learn how to take blood pressure, inject an IV, prescribe medication, and even learn the process of helping a patient give birth.
It allows students to gain real-life experience, without the risk of harming a living person.
The equipment students use in the lab is the same as they will use when they continue on to do their residencies.
Leuranguer, the lab coordinator, programs the mannequins with a computer.
A tablet next to each patient measures blood pressure, heart rate, and breathing rate. In the simulation, she programmed the mannequins for blood transfusions.
Students were assigned one mannequin for a duration of four hours. During those hours, they monitored, took vitals, and answered questions about their patient on a screen above them.
In scenarios such as this one, if the students misdiagnose the patient or provide the wrong medication, the mannequin will demonstrate worse conditions. If they give the right medication, the patient will show progress in health.
Leuranguer said this lab is created with the goal for students to graduate feeling confident they have enough experience to go monitor real patients.