The University of Guam School of Health has established the first fully simulated birthing lab in Micronesia.

The lab includes a state-of-the-art pregnant mother mannequin, computer software to simulate real-life birth scenarios and numerous pieces of supporting equipment. Setup of the laboratory was completed last Friday. Last week, faculty and staff in the nursing program have been training to use the lab.  Nurses from GMHA also participated in the training, as UOG collaborates with GMHA to train nursing students.

“We try to apply whatever topic the students are learning about in the classroom, to a hands on experience with the mannequin,” said UOG Instructor and Learning Resource Center coordinator, Veronica Alave.“We will be able to provide training in different kinds of birthing situations for students in Guam and from Micronesia.”

The fully simulated pregnant mother mannequin can be programmed to have a pulse, go into convulsions, make vocal noises, hemorrhage and even have a C-section delivery. UOG’s mannequin is also one of the first models with the ability to have a programmed, automatic delivery. Faculty can set the length of delivery, length of contractions and complications by computer programming. The lab also includes fully-functioning hospital beds and hospital-like wall mounts.

The lab also includes an observation room for students and video documentation of the live-birth simulation. Video documentation helps students and faculty improve bedside manner and catch any possible mistakes. Nursing instructors hope to do a mock trial at the end of October to show students the new lab. 

“Students can make a mistake on a mannequin and learn from it. They can make a mistake that you could not make in real life,” said Dr. Margaret Hattori-Uchima, Dean of the School of Health. “This setup really helps us assess critical thinking skills.”

The $40,000 lab includes training and was funded in part by the Area Health Education Center grant and with funding from Take Care Inc.  The lab is part of the Learning Resource Center housed at the School of Health on the UOG campus.

 

In this photo:

The University of Guam School of Health held a training last week for the first fully simulated birthing lab in Micronesia. From left to right: UOG Associate Professor of Nursing Kathy Wood, GMHA Staff Nurse Training Officer Roseann Apuron, , UOG Nursing Instructor Veronica Alave, Laerdal Australia Trainer Laura Vessey and UOG Computer Technician Robert Wolford.