Boston Children’s Hospital recently acquired a new teaching tool to help train area doctors and nurses on how to deal with neonatal emergencies. The hospital will train its staff on Super Tory, one of Gaumard’s most advanced and lifelike neonatal patient simulators.

Super Tory resembles an 8-pound baby and can virtually recreate any neonatal emergency. She was designed to look, feel, act, and sound like a real baby to immerse the participants in the simulation. She is completely wireless and can be controlled by a Surface Pro tablet. With a few clicks of a button, the facilitator can make the baby go from a stable, healthy newborn to one that is in acute distress.

Furthermore, Super Tory can simulate a variety of physical and auditory cues. Her limbs move, and she makes a lot of sounds and facial expressions. These cues are the only way babies have of communicating. For health care providers, it is vitally important they be able to recognize these cues and diagnose a patient based on what these cues are telling them.

These features make Super Tory an invaluable teaching tool at Boston Children’s Hospital. She was designed to help doctors, nurses, and other staff practice and rehearse the skills they will need to care for a neonatal patient. By mastering these skills in a simulated environment, the participants do not have to worry about harming a real patient.

Super Tory can be used in hospitals to run a variety of mock scenarios. She can be programmed to simulate breathing problems, cardiac arrest, jaundice, and seizures. Thus, practitioners get well-rounded training in the various ailments and procedures they will encounter in the real world.

Additionally, Super Tory’s lifelike features allow the practitioners to develop an empathetic attachment to the simulator. Her vital signs and movements are controlled by an engineer behind the scenes. As a result, the realism of the experience is not broken, and practitioners can react like they would during a real emergency.

Thus, practitioners can experience the chaotic energy and stress that they will encounter in the NICU. Super Tory can help them gain the confidence and skills to deal with the stress of an emergency situation in a safe environment.

Each scenario provides a teachable moment whether the practitioners successfully treat the patient or not. The practitioners can assess their actions and learn what strengths and weaknesses each brought to the simulation. Weaknesses can be worked on and improved while valuable skills are honed.

By including Super Tory in their training program, Boston Children’s Hospital has given their health care staff an invaluable training tool. The knowledge these students gain will create well-rounded professionals and prepare them to tackle modern health care needs.

To watch the complete WBZ 4 report and see Super Tory in action, click on the link. To learn more about Super Tory visit the Gaumard website or click on the link.