August 6, 2012

At Medical Schools' Simulation Centers, New Doctors Can Learn Without Fear

At Medical Schools' Simulation Centers, Doctors Don't Have to Bury Their Mistakes 1

Eric Younghans, USF Health Communications

Resuscitating a newborn is the subject at hand for Nikki Campbell (center, in blue scrubs), an instructor at the U. of South Florida medical school's simulation center, where residents practice on a neonatal simulator.

By Katherine Mangan

Tampa, Fla.

Holding an ultrasound probe steady with his left hand and inserting a needle at a precise angle with his right, Joseph Frye threads a catheter into his patient's neck. There's little margin for error. A slip of the needle could puncture the carotid artery; failing to scrub up sufficiently could introduce a deadly infection into Mr. Jones's bloodstream.

Lucky for the young doctor, Mr. Jones is a mannequin—an upper torso, really—and just the subject for a