Read about the Academy Experience

A Spoonful of Sugar Helps the Medicine Go Down

Mt. Sinai graciously hosted a hospital tour and simulation in which students were given the opportunity to observe hospital facilities and use equipment. During one module, we discussed imaging modality and how it works. We used an ultrasound to look at students' hearts, livers, intestines, kidneys, spleens and aortas.

During the demonstration we discussed the differences between high-density and low-density obstructions in the body, such as differences between the appearance of liquid, gas, tissue, and bone on an ultrasound. We found that an ultrasound is particularly good at observing fluid around the heart, monitoring an enlarged aorta, and examining infections to the gall bladder.

In another module, students were introduced to Sim Man, a human medical "doll" who blinks, has heart sounds and who also has lung and breathing sounds. These sounds can be changed to simulate asthma attacks or popped lungs. Moreover, Sim Man has pulses in his wrists and his neck. He can also blink and talk. The only thing he can't do is move, except in replication of seizures, which makes him shake in bed. Sim Man is used to simulate medical scenarios for training purposes and for practice making decisions in as close to real time as possible.

Sim Man is connected to computer terminals the training doctor uses to simulate physiological symptoms. The patient is also connected to a large monitor on which his heart rate and other vitals, such as pulse, are projected in real time. Students used stethoscopes to listen to sounds in both lungs, to the heart, and to the abdomen. They were also asked to check his pulse with their fingers and to examine other physiological features.

After their brief examination of Sim Man, students reviewed the patient's vital signs on the monitor and discussed different possible diagnoses based on the monitor's readings. We practiced our CPR skills, compressing Sim Man's chest. In the final round of the simulation, we used a defibrillator on the patient and jumpstarted his heart with low-levels of electricity.

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