Teachers are used to being creative in the classroom.

Dustin Hicks, Practical Nursing Instructor/Simulation Specialist at Meridian Technology Center, is no exception, and his innovative approach to teaching is being recognized at the national level.

Hicks devised a way to modify a SimMan 3G manikin that allows students to insert and use a nasogastric tube (NG tube). The National League for Nursing Simulation Innovation Resource Center (NLN SIRC) has recognized his innovation through its HomeGrown Simulation Solutions contest.

The HomeGrown Simulation Solutions program recognizes the self-made, creative adaptations and original simulation scenarios that educators using simulation manikins have developed. Hicks’ creativity has added a new training element for students using an NG tube, an empty IV bag, a large zip locking bag, tape, an NG strip, safety pins, food coloring, hemostat scissors, lubricant, modeling clay, a catheter syringe and water.

“The SimMan3G is a great tool for learning, but its design lends itself more easily to emergency medical care than day-to-day nursing care,” Hicks explained. “The modification that I made provides a simple way for nursing students to practice, and ultimately master, a common procedure that they will encounter with patients.”

An NG tube is a thin, plastic tube that is inserted through a patient’s nostril, runs down the esophagus and into the stomach. NG tubes have bidirectional capabilities, and they are frequently used to remove the contents of the stomach, including air, to decompress the stomach, or to remove small solid objects and fluid, such as poison, from the stomach. An NG tube can also be used to put substances into the stomach, and are frequently used to place nutrients directly into the stomach when patients cannot eat or drink on their own.

Hicks has led the school’s simulation efforts since 2009. Meridian’s simulation facilities include a four-room mock hospital equipped with three Laerdal SimMan 3G manikins, SimJunior, SimBaby and a PROMPT Birthing Simulator. The life-like manikins are primarily used in the school’s health training programs, but they are also available for customized business and industry classes with medical professionals and first responders.

In addition to Hicks’ creation being published on the NLN SIRC site, he has been invited to present at the International Nursing Association for Clinical Simulation and Learning conference in June.

To learn more about Meridian’s simulation training facilities visit meridiantech.edu/simulation.