Sim Lab Gives Pharmacy Students Hands-On Experience

Third-year pharmacy students at the Fairleigh Dickinson University (FDU) School of Pharmacy will soon attend sessions at The Medicines Company’s patient simulation (Sim) lab.

These students will be exposed to simulated hospital experiences in cardiac catheterization units and operating rooms (OR) using high-tech mannequins.

The lab’s technology also gives students a chance to see real-time blood pressure readings and simulated patients’ adverse effects from medication.

“You can teach pharmacology at the bedside, by seeing how certain drugs affect heart rate, blood pressure, etc, and the Sim Lab prepares students for what they might see when they start rotations in the hospitals,” Fred Pane, RPh, FASHP, FABC, senior director for national accounts and health system engagement at The Medicines Company, told Pharmacy Practice News.

The Sim Lab’s technology can also show students how a patient may react to medication over several days or weeks.

“Often in a class setting, students only see the pharmacotherapeutics side of patient care,” Dongmi Kim, PharmD, clinical assistant professor in pharmacy practice at FDU, told Pharmacy Practice News. “The Sim Lab shows them the entire process of patient care, of patients coming through an emergency room door, the triage process, and transition to a critical care unit, cath lab, or OR.”

Dr. Kim believes the lab gives pharmacy students better understanding and appreciation for patients’ experiences.