The Blue & You Foundation awarded a $100,000 grant to improve nursing education opportunities at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock.
The $95,801 grant will fund a manikin replacement program that will help the university purchase a SimMan 3G — a state-of-the-art human patient simulator.
Dr. Charles “Preston” Molsbee, associate professor and chair of the UALR Department of Nursing, said in a news release that the new simulator will replace equipment that is reaching the end of its effective lifespan, a time when available company service and parts start to become scarce.
This particular simulator recognizes and records the types of drugs, the dosages and how they’re administered — tasks that the current simulators at the college can’t do, said Dr. Jeffrey Carmack, assistant professor of nursing and director of simulation at the college. The simulator also recognizes the equipment used.
“It’s pretty intelligent as far as what it knows,” said Carmack, who led the effort at the Nursing Department to apply for the grant.
The sophistication of the simulator will help better prepare students for working with patients and will provide a more realistic experience, Carmack said. The new manikin can cry, sweat and bleed.
In addition to the purchase of a new simulator, the grant will help fund training and certification, so faculty members will be qualified to service the simulator, potentially saving equipment downtime that might disrupt the learning process, Molsbee said.
The grant was one of 40 the Blue & You Foundation announced Nov. 13. In total, the foundation will distribute nearly $3 million to health improvement programs in Arkansas.
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