Most everyone is aware that specialty mannequins are now used for purposes other than store displays of clothing and accessories. They have been used as crash test dummies and CPR practice for quite some time. But there is now a whole new generation of mannequins that can literally ‘knock your socks off!”

Hi Tech, yes! These newer medical mannequins actually respond to appropriate treatment. You read that right. They respond! Although most assuredly not alive in the obvious way, they act as if they are in that they clearly manifest the need for some type of therapeutic intervention. They clearly show that they are sick or in pain and come equipped with wireless tablet computers which allow students to work alone while being closely monitored by an experienced professor nearby. Students can now learn, in a hands-on way, about lifecycle events which may take place from infancy until death.

Not only are they used for external demonstration purposes, but they have been so ingeniously crafted that they will respond, despite their various and sundry maladies, to the proper treatment.  They cough, vomit, bleed, display abnormal heart and breath sounds, have seizures, and present with asthma. Not all of their functions are unsettling, panic driven crises. They even give birth!  Emergency simulations are taught by experts and naturally avoid the situation of the anxious first patient practice sessions every doctor has experienced at the beginning of his or her medical career.

So where are these marvels of modern advanced technology located?  At this point in time they are residing at The Lipscomb University Nursing and Health Sciences Center, which is the most advanced facility in the state of Tennessee. It now features 18 mannequins costing up to $95,000 each, depending on their function. The more involved the function, the greater the cost.

It is only a matter of time before other medical facilities, nursing schools, universities, etc. acquire their own permanent staff of state-of-the-art mannequins. It is a win-win situation in every way. Practice training on inanimate, practically indestructible ‘bodies’ sure makes for a lot less tension for a new doctor. And after all, who would actually want to be his first patient?