Part-task Physical Trainers

Simulation Modalities - Part-task Physical Trainers

For many purposes, especially for learning particular Tasks and Skills, it is only necessary to replicate specific portions of the patient and/or specific portions of the task. Part-task Physical trainers provide just the key elements of the task or skill being learned. Many kinds of part task trainers are used. In some cases basic elements of a task can first be practiced on household objects or food. Many a student has first learned how to do an injection practicing on an orange, and residents in anesthesiology may learn to do epidurals (e.g. for relief of pain during labor and childbirth) using a watermelon!. Still, for many procedures more advanced physical trainers that better replicate aspects of human beings are needed. A very few examples out of the dozens that are in use include:

  • Plastic “IV Arm” containing soft plastic skin with plastic “veins” underneath. These can be stuck with standard IV or blood-drawing needles in just the way this is done for real veins in real patients.
  • Airway management head: These replicate the face, head, and “airways” (mouth, nose, throat, windpipe) of patients. These can allow breathing via a face mask with or without a mechanical ventilation device like a breathing bag, or insertion of special breathing tubes such as an endotracheal tube (in the windpipe) or laryngeal mask airway (sitting just above the windpipe). Learning to perform these techniques takes considerable practice..
  • Urinary catheter trainer: This replicates the genital structures containing the urethra – the outlet for urine in the body. Students can physically learn the process of inserting a urine collecting tube (a “Foley catheter”) in either male or female patients.
  • Pelvic examination trainer: Various sorts of plastic models replicate the pelvic structures of female patients and allow practice of the key parts of the pelvic examination without causing any discomfort to real patients. The most advanced of these part-task pelvic trainers contain electronic force sensors to let the student know exactly what portions of the anatomy they felt, and how hard they or their instruments pressed on various areas. This kind of feedback can be highly beneficial.
Simulation Modalities - Part-task Physical Trainers

Part-task Trainers in plastic or other forms cannot fully replicate performing the task on real patients, but they do allow learners to acquire the basic steps of the procedures and some of the basic skills needed to then be taught the fine art of doing the procedures under supervision on actual human beings.

An interesting trend is to combine a part-task physical trainer with a living breathing standardized patient actor. For example, there are part-task trainers for suturing of deep cuts or lacerations. These consist of a pad of a special soft plastic material with a cut in the surface. Such a pad can be strapped on the arm of an SP actor, and then draped with appropriate clinical draping material. The student not only has to perform the elements of sewing up the wound, but as in real life has to do so while attending to the patient’s needs and conversing with the patient.