The Medical School plans to increase the use of artificial simulators in its educational curriculum, offering more opportunities for students and residents to practice realistic procedures on human models, officials said recently.
The use of new technology gained relevance following Friday's announcement that the University Medical Center will eliminate the use of dogs in Medical School teaching practices.
Nearly 75 percent of U.S. medical schools, including all of the nation's top-10 ranked schools, have eliminated the use of live animals in their curricula in favor of more modern alternatives such as observing live surgeries or using new computer simulators, according to data from the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine.
Marcus Martin, professor and chair of the department of emergency medicine, said the use of simulators is not meant to replace the dog labs, but will allow students and residents to practice emergency techniques similar to those previously practiced on dogs in the emergency life-saving techniques lab, offered to third-year medical students.
In December, the Medical School purchased an emergency care simulator, made by Medical Education Technologies, Inc., using funds donated by the Claude Moore Foundation. Martin said the $60,000 ECS is also known as Standard Man, or "Stan the man".
Stan is a life-size, computerized mannequin that can be used to practice procedures such as the insertion of chest tubes, needle decompression, resuscitation and treating exposure to biological and chemical agents, he said. The blinking and breathing mannequin is linked up to a computer and monitor where blood pressure, pulse and respiratory rate can be observed.
"In simulated scenarios, students' pulse rates actually go up because they feel the adrenaline rush of taking care of an actual patient," Martin said.
Rooshin Dalal, a medical student and co-founder of Citizens for Humane Medicine, said these simulators are a superior way to teach life-saving techniques.
"They let the medical students train in an environment where the anatomy is identical to that of a human," Dalal said. "The placement is very realistic."
The American College of Surgeons recently approved the use of TraumaMan, a human patient simulator, for use in Advanced Trauma Life Support courses, said Nancy Harrison, a pathologist in private practice in San Diego. ATLS is a class that physicians and residents must take to learn trauma care techniques.
The use of human patient simulators in conjunction with ATLS was found to enhance trauma management skills, increase participant confidence and improve trauma team behavior, according to the results of a 2001 study published in "The Journal of Trauma: Injury, Infection, and Critical Care."
Laurence Hansen, professor of neuroscience and pathology at University of California-San Diego, said the benefits of the simulators outweigh the costs associated with using animals.
"With computerized simulators you can keep repeating the procedures," he said. "With the dog, once you've killed the dog that's the end of it."
Martin said the Medical School plans to begin using the Emergency Care Simulator in May or June in order to instruct third-year medical students in the emergency surgery rotation.
"It hasn't been used to teach students yet," he said. "We're just beginning to learn how to use it."
Martin said he foresees the University acquiring four or five models for use during the next few years.
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