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This local hospital simulation lab is ‘vital to ... safe patient care.’ Here’s how

Angelica Relente
·2 min read

A team of fresh nursing school graduates needed to care for a pretend baby named Charlie who seemed to have bruise marks on his body Friday morning.

Although the baby was a plastic doll meant for training purposes, Grace Portch said she still felt “super nervous.” Portch is one of the seven registered nurse (RN) residents from Mary Bridge Children’s Hospital who put their skills to the test March 31.

MultiCare has a simulation lab at 1317 East Main Ave. The lab offers training opportunities for health care professionals to practice their teamwork and critical thinking skills. This is done by simulating scenarios that may happen at work.

Mary Bridge Children’s hospital RN resident Karli Priebe participates in a simulation where she is administering medicine to a “pediatric patient” with seizures and symptoms of abuse as part of MultiCare University’s pediatric nurse residency program at MultiCare University in Puyallup on March 31, 2023.
Mary Bridge Children’s hospital RN resident Karli Priebe participates in a simulation where she is administering medicine to a “pediatric patient” with seizures and symptoms of abuse as part of MultiCare University’s pediatric nurse residency program at MultiCare University in Puyallup on March 31, 2023.

The simulation lab program began in the spring of 2020. The hospital system puts over $1 million into the program per year, MultiCare spokesperson Scott Thompson said. Swedish Health Services has a similar program.

The scenario Portch and other RN residents participated in involved a baby doll and a volunteer who pretended to be his mom. The mom noticed something off about her baby after coming from daycare, and then he started having a seizure.

Mary Bridge Children’s hospital RN residents Matthew Wald, left, Grace Portch, center, Karli Priebe, second from right, and Haley Jones, right, participate in a simulation where they treat a “pediatric patient” with seizures and symptoms of abuse as part of MultiCare University’s pediatric nurse residency program at MultiCare University in Puyallup on March 31, 2023.

The RN residents checked the baby doll’s vitals — body temperature, blood pressure, pulse and respiratory. They asked his pretend mom about the bruises they saw on his body. They also asked for help from a doctor and a rapid response team. The training scenario ended after they controlled the simulated seizure and his vitals were normal again.

MultiCare staff are in another room watching the RN residents during training. Someone controls the baby doll’s reactions while another tells the pretend mom what to say or do through an earpiece.

Mary Bridge Children’s hospital RN residents listen to instructions about how they will participate in a simulation lab training where they will treat a “pediatric patient” with seizures and symptoms of abuse as part of MultiCare University’s pediatric nurse residency program at MultiCare University in Puyallup on March 31, 2023.
Mary Bridge Children’s hospital RN residents listen to instructions about how they will participate in a simulation lab training where they will treat a “pediatric patient” with seizures and symptoms of abuse as part of MultiCare University’s pediatric nurse residency program at MultiCare University in Puyallup on March 31, 2023.

“It’s really good practice because I’ve never actually been in a situation where I’ve had to be the main nurse,” Portch said.

The simulation lab doesn’t only offer pediatric care scenarios. There are also adult plastic dolls to practice on, Cassandra Bucey said. Bucey is a nursing professional development generalist for MultiCare’s simulation lab.

Mary Bridge Children’s hospital RN residents listen to instructions about how they will participate in a simulation lab training where they will treat a “pediatric patient” with seizures and symptoms of abuse as part of MultiCare University’s pediatric nurse residency program at MultiCare University in Puyallup on March 31, 2023.
Mary Bridge Children’s hospital RN residents listen to instructions about how they will participate in a simulation lab training where they will treat a “pediatric patient” with seizures and symptoms of abuse as part of MultiCare University’s pediatric nurse residency program at MultiCare University in Puyallup on March 31, 2023.

Nursing school teaches students many things, but MultiCare’s simulation lab is on a different level, Portch said. The lab offers a safe environment where they can be critiqued on their skills and receive positive feedback, she said.

Mary Bridge Children’s hospital RN residents Haley Jones, left, and Grace Portch, right, participate in a simulation where they treat a “pediatric patient” with seizures and symptoms of abuse as part of MultiCare University’s pediatric nurse residency program at MultiCare University in Puyallup on March 31, 2023.
Mary Bridge Children’s hospital RN residents Haley Jones, left, and Grace Portch, right, participate in a simulation where they treat a “pediatric patient” with seizures and symptoms of abuse as part of MultiCare University’s pediatric nurse residency program at MultiCare University in Puyallup on March 31, 2023.

MultiCare’s simulation lab can help new or soon-to-be nurses experience a scenario and understand how to respond to or treat a patient before it happens in real life, Bucey said.

Mary Bridge Children’s hospital RN resident Grace Portch participates in a simulation where she is checking the heart rate of a “pediatric patient” with seizures and symptoms of abuse as part of MultiCare University’s pediatric nurse residency program at MultiCare University in Puyallup on March 31, 2023.
Mary Bridge Children’s hospital RN resident Grace Portch participates in a simulation where she is checking the heart rate of a “pediatric patient” with seizures and symptoms of abuse as part of MultiCare University’s pediatric nurse residency program at MultiCare University in Puyallup on March 31, 2023.

Other experienced health care professionals, such as physicians and pharmacists, run through simulations like this as well to avoid “skill degradation,” Bucey said, when someone loses their skills after a long time of not using them.

“Running these and helping people learn how to communicate with each other is so vital to making sure that we have safe patient care,” Bucey said.

Mary Bridge Children’s hospital RN residents Matthew Wald, Grace Portch, Karli Priebe, and Haley Jones, participate in a simulation where they treat a “pediatric patient” with seizures and symptoms of abuse as part of MultiCare University’s pediatric nurse residency program at MultiCare University in Puyallup on March 31, 2023.
Mary Bridge Children’s hospital RN residents Matthew Wald, Grace Portch, Karli Priebe, and Haley Jones, participate in a simulation where they treat a “pediatric patient” with seizures and symptoms of abuse as part of MultiCare University’s pediatric nurse residency program at MultiCare University in Puyallup on March 31, 2023.