Taking your EMS Training to the Next Level: The Importance of Using Realistic Manikins During Medical Emergency Scenarios

"Realistic manikins provide an opportunity to create and learn from realistic scenarios, which is a game-changer for the EMS industry."

- Journal of Emergency Dispatch (2019)

Personnel and teams within the Emergency Services face critical situations where lives depend on their ability to respond and react quickly. Effective training and preparation are essential to ensuring the safety and success of professionals who work within the emergency services sector - where lives are on the line day in, day out.

Training and preparing for these situations require a high level of realism to ensure that teams are well prepared to face the unexpected, whether that be preforming (see the Ruth Lee CPR Training Manikin here).

One of the best ways to achieve this level of realism is through the use of realistic, or ‘life-like’ manikins — which simulate a real-life person (and patient) in a number of ways, such as anatomy, weight distribution, size —to the more acute human characteristics, such as hair, skin texture, and organs.

As a result of this specialist design for many different emergency medical scenerios, the use of realistic manikins allow for more accurate and effective training of your team.

Realistic manikins are crucial to EMS training because they keep teams engaged and invested in their training. However, when training becomes too repetitive or lacks this realism (due to unrealistic learning tools such as a basic, poorly designed manikin), it is safe to suggest that teams can quickly lose interest and motivation. Diminishing the learning environment and the effectiveness of the training.

When the training is engaging, due to authentic parameters (such as a realistic manikin that emulates a real-life patient), EMS professionals, such as paramedics, can adequality prepare for real-life scenarios. As “simulation is a primary teaching modality, consistently used to educate and train paramedics” (2020). Allowing them to practice and hone their skills in life-like environments.

So, when faced with an actual emergency, having the opportunity to practice and prepare using a realistic manikin can make all the difference! Ensuring that your medical team, are capable of responding quickly and effectively under authentic conditions. This is crucial when the same life-saving skills and techniques need to be performed on a real patient, or casualty. Especially in unpredictable or inconvenient situations, which require you, or your team to perform more technical skills during a rescue or emergency situation. For example, during a medical emergency where such as a patient may be trapped in a small space (see Ruth Lee Confined Space Training Manikin here) or where a rescue / retrieval from height is needed to perform medical care (see Ruth Lee's Working at Height Training Manikin here).

Training with a realistic or body simulation manikin that has these ‘life-like’ features, allows teams to simulate realistic emergency scenarios. Developing the skills needed to respond quickly and appropriately in emergency situations. As Manikins have now become “more advanced over the years” (2019), not only mimicking the weight and movement of an unconscious patient, but emulating key features of a patient such as anatomy, bone structure, and age (see Ruth Lee Ambulance / EMS Duty Training Range Manikin here).

These ‘life-like’ training tools with authentic features help to replicate, and re-enact real-life scenarios, for more effective teaching and training of emergency medical personnel in an environment that is “as close to a real situation as possible” (2007), so that they can safely deal with patients to the best of their ability and specialist knowledge in these emergency situations.

Saving Lives in the process.

You can browse and select the right training manikin from our current, and expanding range of Ruth Lee Rescue and Training Manikins on our website today.