Many nursing students have had some training with the help of a mannequin. Introduced several years ago, the dummies have found their way onto nursing tables at schools and hospitals across the country. And over time, they have become more advanced. The SimMan has become more lifelike, more sophisticated, and can even give birth to a little SimBaby. But now, a small group-two nurses and a video game developer-is trying to change the way nurses train forever.

“Gaming technology is not a new thing in training,” says Jerrod Ullah, RN, a staff nurse at Inova Fairfax (VA) Hospital for Children. “Flight simulators have been around forever. So, why isn’t it in healthcare? Why isn’t it in nursing?”

With any luck and a little funding, training software with state-of-the-art, 3-D technology will find a home in hospitals across the country within the next year or two. The software, called Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) Critical Decision Simulation (CDS), was developed by Jim Omer, the president of Rival Interactive, Jill Duncan, RN, MS, MPH, a clinical nurse specialist, and Ullah.

The idea for the software is simple, giving nurses a chance to learn and practice their skills without endangering patients. Developing the software was a tad more complex. High quality, 3-D graphics, the group decided, would provide an important element.

“It’s amazing how 3-D graphics can explain the body,” Omer says. “We can put cameras where they can’t physically be. There’s unlimited potential.”

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