Search | Menu Sewing up a solution: students collaborate on EMS manikin clothing project
Madison College may have the best-dressed manikins in town.
Floral scarves, plaid pants, and pink-stripped hoodies, they are fashionistas, thanks to the help of simulation instructor Jeremy Ernst. The patient simulation manikins, unlike clothing store mannequins, play an essential role in helping Madison College EMS students practice cutting-edge lifesaving skills.
By simulating different scenarios—such as a 22-year-old man falling off a skateboard or an 87-year-old female experiencing chest pains—Ernst ensures that the simulations are realistic, not just in terms of breathing, pulse, and other vital signs, but also through personal clothing.
Elevating the learning experience
“In the real world, every patient is going to be wearing something different. I try my best to change the clothes on the manikins between scenarios so that the students aren't looking at the same thing every time they get a new patient,” says Ernst, who, as a simulation operations specialist, creates the best learning experience for students.
While the manikins look lifelike, they lack flexible or bending joints, making it a challenging task to maneuver them in and out of clothing. Changing them on busy days with lots of SIM (simulations) happening can be difficult. With over 80 high-fidelity manikins and 27 simulation rooms across five district campuses, the EMS programs, including emergency medical responder, emergency medical technician, advanced-EMT, paramedic, as well as nursing scenarios, often run back-to-back, with little time to change their appearance.
A successful sewdown
On a long shot, Ernst reached out to Mary Braucht, a Madison College fabric arts instructor, for a quick-change solution, hoping her students could sew zippers in the clothes donated by staff. He also asked if they could attempt to replicate the zipper style of the expensive high-fidelity manikin clothes, sold exclusively by the manufacturer at around $90 for pants and $75 and up for shirts.
Braucht was fully committed to the collaboration and reached out to her current and past students to come and volunteer their skills to make it happen. In May, motivated students gathered for a Saturday "sewdown" with sewing machines, scissors, and zippers in hand to help out the Protective Service students. Twelve volunteers sewed 58 garments, according to Braucht: "It was a very successful sewing day with lots of good vibes all day long.”
With a whole new closet of modified, donated clothes, the SIM manikins are now stylish at an affordable price tag. “It will save our program a substantial amount of money in purchasing the overpriced manikin clothes,” Ernst says. “It will help add more realism and creativity to our simulations to make for a more memorable scenario and learning experience for the students.”
But best of all, Ernst says the collaboration was priceless: “It allows two completely different school programs to work together and help each other out!”
