Saving Lives: Doctors and Medical Students Train at ISU-Meridian

We get better at a task when we practice, and medical doctors are no different.

More than a dozen resident physicians and medical students from the Family Medicine Residency of Idaho or FRMI spent April 29 at ISU-Meridian, practicing lifesaving skills inside the Health Science Center’s human patient simulation laboratory.

“It’s great to be able to experience an emergency in a simulated environment before seeing it in real life,” said third-year medical student Mike Flores of Boise. “We can analyze what we need to do better and learn from our mistakes,” he added.

Students and residents, working in teams, practiced on high-tech manikins programmed to duplicate emergencies that can occur in the real world. Training scenarios included postpartum hemorrhaging, infant trauma and bacterial infections.  Faculty watched from behind one-way mirrors and evaluated performances.

Rebecca Kinney, FMRI chief resident physician, said simulation enables doctors to synthesize information, practice teamwork and learn from mistakes in a controlled environment.

A recent Harvard University study noted a 50 percent decrease in malpractice claims for anesthesiologists who attended a simulation-based risk reduction course.

In addition to ISU and the Boise-based FRMI, numerous partners were involved in the training, including the Idaho Simulation Network, Air St. Luke’s, Life Flight Network and Boise State University.

“To see Idaho Simulation Network members coming together in a truly collaborative effort to enhance the training of FMRI’s remarkable young residents is both exciting and promising for the state of Idaho,” said Marion Constable, ISN interim director.